Salvation
by K. Walsh
Summary: Our favorite Detective, A.D.A. and their daughter are back for a fourth story; as are the rest of the characters. Two new cases and SVU is working with Narcotics on one of them to take down a suspected drug lord who is also prostituting minors.
1. Chapter 1

_**Law & Order: SVU**_

"_**Salvation"**_

An Original Law & Order: SVU Story

Copyright 2011 by: K. Walsh

DISCLAIMER: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and all characters are property of NBC and Dick Wolf. All the other characters are fictional and have come from the depths of my imagination. This story is an original work of fiction set in the pre-existing world of Law & Order: SVU. All original characters and major storylines contained within this story belong to the author. The pre-existing characters have been borrowed for the purposes of good clean fun…well, maybe not clean. Take heed: this story contains coarse language and sexual violence (sexual exploitation and physical abuse of minors), brief graphic depictions of violent crime and trauma. There are also scenes of sexuality and mature themes between two female characters and two teenage characters.

Author's Note: A special thanks to Torrie and Becca Boo for inspiring The Kid. To my Lass, Gaby, for making sure nothing got lost in translation and Joe Walsh for editing this story. Lastly to all my friends who have put up with me…I know I can be a mess! Salvation is the fourth story in my 'S' series. Scent, Sideways and Sins are the others. While you don't need to have read the others to enjoy Salvation, you probably should, in that order. It will it will clear up a lot of confusion you may have and explain the short blonde, who's now a brunette, running around in the story.

Rating: 18/M

Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson

Stephanie March as A.D.A Alexandra Cabot

Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler

Richard Belzer as Detective John Munch

Ice-T as Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola

Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen

Diane Neal as Casey Novak

Featuring Jenna Boyd as Jess O'Malley

Special Appearance by Angie Harmon as Abbie Carmichael

Salvation

**Prologue**

It was hard to say at this point who was happier. Detective Olivia Benson came home to a loving girlfriend, a teenage daughter and a place that felt like home. Despite how much time she spent at work Alex and Jess understood and almost never made her feel guilty about it. They understand and accept her job. Olivia felt stable for the first time in a long time. She and Alex worked at their relationship every day; trying to regain trust and learning to lean on each other.

The Kid, otherwise known as Jess O'Malley was in the midst of wrapping up her junior year at Mount Pleasant Preparatory. Something that had come out recently was that Alex and her siblings had all attended this school, as had their father. The Cabots had a long-standing attendance at Mount Pleasant Prep; they had also made generous donations to the school over the years. Jess was back down to one session a week with Dr. Hendrix. It had taken time but she was working through not only her sexual assault but also the realization that it was her father who had hurt her. She also had a standing appointment once a week with Cynthia Kingston; a producer for the record label WKA Inc. and a renowned vocal coach. Jess had liked Cynthia from the moment she met the woman in the lobby of WKA Inc. She was the teen's vocal coach and loved spending time with her. Cynthia agreed that the tiny brunette had a great voice but wanted to see her improve it and her confidence. Jess and Richard Stabler were still dating and loving the time they spend together.

Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cabot was getting the hang of parenting. For the most part Jess made it easy; she was almost 17 and pretty much parented herself. She loved her daughter more than she ever thought she could love someone. It was a feeling Alex had never experienced before and thanked Olivia everyday for bringing the tiny brunette into her life. She also thanked her detective for giving her another chance at loving her. Alex loved Olivia Benson and had spend the last few months showing her that; she planned on spending the rest of her life showing her lover just how much she loved her. Jack McCoy had temporarily reassigned Alex for two months beginning in late January. A.D.A. Sonya Paxton had been temporarily re-assigned to Manhattan's SVU. Paxton had filled in for Cabot on another occasion late last fall and had been proven to be an alcoholic. She had since been to court appointed rehab and McCoy was giving her one last chance. During an SVU investigation Paxton became personally involved in the case and it cost her her life. On February 9th A.D.A. Paxton was murdered by a suspect and died in Olivia Benson's arms. Alex, Olivia and the rest of the Special Victims Unit attended the funeral of A.D.A. Sonya Paxton less than a week later. It left Alex realizing how short life was; it left Olivia with a haunting memory and re-opened the hole in her heart her mother's death had left.

**Chapter One: The Vic**

**Manhattan Cemetery **

**Sunday May 8****th****, 11:01**

It was the first time Jess had done this without Tony. He went with her every Mother's Day. She promised him they would be at the diner for lunch but she wanted to take Olivia and Alex with her today.

From the moment Alex had stepped out of her white BMW Jess had taken her hand. She and Olivia had put on their best poker faces when Jess asked them to come to the cemetery with her. Their daughter had never invited them and they respected her relationship with her mother enough never to _ask_ to go with her. They had been shocked but agreed to go with her.

When Jess visited her mother's grave she spoke to her as if she were sitting in front of her. Tony had told her she should and had even spoken to Katharine as if she were standing in his diner giving him customers' orders. Jess had never spoken to her mother in front of anyone else. She tightened her grip on Alex's hand.

"Hey, it's okay." The A.D.A. stared straight ahead.

"Livie's not coming, is she?" The teen gazed at the headstones ahead as they neared her mother's.

"She said she'd be here."

"She's really busy. She's working a new case."

"There is always a new case. Today is once a year. She'll be here." Alex said in a tone she tried to keep causal. Jess seemed to react better when an even tone and normalcy was placed in front of her during a stressful situation. The A.D.A. had realized a while ago that that was part of the reason her daughter did so well when she testified in court.

Jess turned to the left and walked another twenty feet. She and Alex stopped at the foot of a plot. They stood in silence for a few minutes. The teen was scared and a little embarrassed to start talking to the headstone the way she normally would. Alex lifted Jess's hand to her lips and kissed it gently. This drew her daughter's attention up to her eyes. "My parents are buried upstate. It's where they retired and where the family cottage is. It's what they wanted." She pursed her lips as she looked at her daughter. "I wish we could have buried them here, in Manhattan. It would make it easier to visit them the way you do your mom."

The teen bit her bottom lip. "Do you ever talk to them…like they can hear you?"

Alex nodded. "Sometimes. My father was a Judge. Sometimes if I'm having a hard time with a case I quietly ask him what he'd do. Do you talk to your mom?"

"Yeah, it's just…"

"Weird with me here."

"Yeah. I'm sorry, it's not you…"

Alex looked at her daughter with soulful eyes. "I understand. Do you want to talk to your mom with me here? It's okay if you don't."

"I do…I just…it's weird. It's strange…I don't think…"

"It's okay. Why don't you introduce us? I mean I'm sure she's heard about me at some point."

Jess hugged Alex. She turned with one arm still around the A.D.A. "Mom, this is Allie. Al, this is my mom."

"It's nice to finally meet you Katharine. You raised an amazing little girl here." Alex held Jess tighter to her. "You should know she's the best cook at our house."

Alex played along and Jess loved her that much more for it. Olivia sidled up beside Jess as Alex finished her sentence. "What are we doing?" She asked matter-of-factly.

Jess put her other arm around Olivia. "Livie, this is my mom. Mom, this is Livie."

Olivia took the cue and didn't falter even though she didn't understand what was happening. "Good to meet you, Katharine. We're taking good care of your little girl for you." Jess leaned her head against Olivia's side in acknowledgment.

The threesome let go of each other eventually and started to tell stories about the good times they had had over the last year. Alex and Olivia let Jess have a few minutes alone before they left the cemetery for the diner.

"See mom, they're really good to me. I love them. I miss you, mom. I love you very much. Happy Mother's Day." The teen kissed her palm and placed it on top of the headstone.

Olivia and Alex leaned against the SUV and watched the teenage. A tear ran down Olivia's cheek. "Pull it together, Detective." Alex said lovingly as she took her girlfriend's hand.

"Was that normal? What we did, what happened…was that normal?" Olivia asked as she squeezed Alex's hand gently.

"For Jessie, yes. That's what she does. She can imagine her mother there. She can see her."

"How?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe it's because she lost her mother at such a young age. Maybe because she _is_ still so young. Maybe she just needs to believe in something and she chose her mother. It's hard for you to see that, isn't it?"

The pair watched their daughter and never looked at each other.

"Yes…it is."

"You made it look easy for our daughter today. Thank you for that."

Olivia leaned against Alex. "Having her, watching her, seeing things through her eyes…it…"

"Changes your perspective."

Olivia chuckled under her breath. She loved that Alex made it easy for her. "She's taught me more than I could ever teach her."

**121 Bloor**

**Queens, New York**

**Sunday, May 8****th****, 19:22**

The Stablers', minus Eli who was at home with a babysitter, Jess, Olivia and Alex sat at a large table in the bar that one of Elliot's brothers owned. Olivia, Alex and Kathy had been honored with quite a toast from their respective kids. The bar and grill was a decent enough place and had karaoke. For the first time Jess took the stage, in front of her family, and sang. "This is to my Mamas. Happy Mother's Day."

(_You with the sad eyes  
>Don't be discouraged<br>Oh I realize  
>It's hard to take courage<br>In a world full of people  
>You can lose sight of it all<br>And the darkness inside you  
>Can make you feel so small<em>

_But I see your true colors  
>Shining through<br>I see your true colors  
>And that's why I love you<br>So don't be afraid to let them show  
>Your true colors<br>True colors are beautiful,  
>Like a rainbow<em>

Olivia and Alex smiled at their daughter. It took a lot of guts to sing in front of everyone and they realized she was becoming very comfortable.

_Show me a smile then,  
>Don't be unhappy, can't remember<br>When I last saw you laughing  
>If this world makes you crazy<br>And you've taken all you can bear  
>You call me up<br>Because you know I'll be there_

Alex and Olivia held hands as they thought back over the last year. It had been the best and worst they had ever had. It was strange that the tiny figure on stage had brought them together. In the end, it had been each other that had broken down the walls between them and made it last.

_And I'll see your true colors  
>Shining through<br>I see your true colors  
>And that's why I love you<br>So don't be afraid to let them show  
>Your true colors<br>True colors are beautiful,  
>Like a rainbow<em>)

By the time Jess was finished Olivia, Alex and Kathy had tears in their eyes. The teen put the microphone on the stand and walked over to her mothers. She hugged and kissed them both. She had worried a lot about how today would go. Alex and Olivia had put her mind at ease in the cemetery and the rest of the day seemed to be so easy.

**Mojito **

**Monday May 9th, 23:55**

Carlos sat with his back against the booth. Lucia sat to the right of him and looked out onto the piano bar. She sipped at her drink; a water because he didn't like her smelling of liquor. He looked to his left slightly but never made eye contact with the man. "Do you like anything you see?"

He looked around the bar, although he could hardly call it that. Mike gazed at all the exotic women in the room and aerostatic men. He had gotten a card for Mojito from a guy he plays squash with. He had also shared women with his squash partner. They had similar predilections and that was hard to come by. Mike knew two things for sure; he enjoyed being around like-minded people and he definitely liked what he saw. "I like many things that I see."

"Benjamin told me you might, that is why I gave him my card to give to you. It's your first night at Mojito, Michael…enjoy yourself." Carlos inhaled in his cigar.

"What's her name?" Mike asked nodding to a slender, dark-haired woman in a skin-tight dress as she walked by their table.

Carlos exhaled. "That is Maria. Would you like her to join us?"

Mike licked his lips. "Yes."

As he put his arm around Lucia he leaned in so that his lips were within a half-inch of her ear. "Get Maria," he whispered.

Lucia nodded and Carlos withdrew his arm. She shuffled gracefully out of the booth, stood and walked toward Maria. They spoke briefly when she had reached the other woman and then brought her back to the table. "Michael, this is Maria." Both women smiled at the men.

Mike smiled back. "Hi, Maria. Would you like a drink?"

Maria nodded, knowing she wasn't allowed to drink liquor but saying yes was part of the deal. "Maybe we could go somewhere a little quieter?"

His eyes lit up as his smile widened. "That would be wonderful." Mike looked at Carlos. "Thank-you very much for the invitation to Mojito, I can already tell I'm going to enjoy myself." He downed the shot of rum in the glass in front of him, set it down and shook Carlos's hand.

"Please do, and remember tonight is on the house so have a good time."

Mike got up and took Maria by the hand. Lucia sat back down in the booth next to Carlos. He inhaled on his cigar again. "That's one of the new girls. Did you tell her the rules?" he asked in Spanish.

"Yes, she knows. Like all the girls I trained her myself." Lucia answered in Spanish.

"Good girl." Carlos said as he exhaled.

Maria had been told that she couldn't consume any alcohol. Carlos and Lucia wanted every girl to perform at their best; it was part of the deal. When Lucia had befriended her two months ago in the market in Urbina where she lived the very young, short, dark-haired woman had been kind to her. She spoke perfect Spanish and English. Lucia had told her incredible stories of America, New York City in particular. Maria had wanted to visit and asked Lucia how she could. The slender beauty offered to bring her back to New York City and help her find a job. Maria had been excited about this prospect. She spoke to her family and against their advice had run away and joined Lucia at the hotel she had said she was staying at. She had made all the arrangement and two days later boarded a plane with Maria to New York City. The job Lucia helped her find wasn't what Maria wanted to do. She was all alone in a city she didn't know, in a country she was unfamiliar with. The deal that was struck between Maria and Carlos Ramirez was simple; she did what she was told and he didn't kill her.

Maria and Mike had gone to a private room in the back of the bar. From the inside you would never know these rooms existed. They went through a door marked 'Office' and down a hall. Each room had a lock on the door, from the inside. Maria led Mike through the tiny maze and into the second last room. When they got inside he closed the door and locked it. When Mike looked back Maria was sitting on the bed. He went over to her and grabbed her wrists. "Tonight you're mine and according to Carlos you're free." He smiled a sick grin at her as he pushed her onto her back on the bed. Mike pulled her thighs apart and tore her panties off. As Maria struggled his penis got harder. He put his right hand around her throat. "This time 'round I'm gonna be gentle, Maria. Next time, when I have to pay for you I'm gonna give it all I've got."

He stood up and carefully unbuttoned his dress shirt. Mike removed it and placed it over a chair. He took off his dress pants, folded them neatly and put them on the chair. He took off his briefs and placed them on the same chair. Mike went back to the bed and kneeled between Maria's thighs. "Nice and gentle." He said as he pushed himself inside her.

She knew better than to resist or protest. No matter how rough it got that was part of the deal. There were times, like now, when Maria thought death would be a welcome relief. He was hard and was hurting her as he moved in and out of her. She fought back the tears and the screams she wanted to let out died in her throat. He started to push hard and faster in and out of her. She naturally tensed and brought her thighs together.

"Oh, no you don't." Mike said as he leaned over her and put his right hand around her throat. He squeezed on her larynx. "Open your legs, bitch." He forced himself harder into her prying her thighs apart before she could relax them herself.

Maria cried out slightly at the force and because she wasn't getting enough air to breath. Five more thrusts and Mike held his breath and then came. He relinquished his hold of Maria's neck and pulled out of her. He headed to the bathroom, which was on the right side of the room. When he came back she was still on the bed. That was part of the deal. She had to lay there until the client left the room; she wasn't to assume that because he had gone to the bathroom that their time was over yet.

Mike walked over the chair and got dressed. He looked at her. "Until next time, Maria." He turned, unlocked the door and left the room. Maria sat on the bed and cried for five minutes. She gave herself five minutes after every client. She went to the bathroom, washed up and went back out into the bar.

**Residence of Candice and Liam Andrews**

**14 Avenue C, Apartment 12D**

**Tuesday, May 10****th****, 00:45**

He woke up terrified and in a cold sweat. When he rolled over he realized what he had done. Liam sat up and pulled the blankets off himself. He quietly got out of bed and walked to the dresser in the room. He opened one of the drawers and pulled out new pj's. Liam undressed and put on the clean clothing. He took the wet pajamas and opened up the hamper in the room. He pushed the dirty pj's all the way to the bottom and closed the lid. Walking from there back to the bed he pulled the soaked sheets off and made them into a ball. Liam did his best to stuff them into the hamper as well. Clean sheets were in the linen closet beside the bathroom; he was going to have to leave his room, walk down the hall, past her room and around the corner to get them. He prayed she had fallen asleep in front of the television. No matter how bad the dream was his reality was worse. Liam stepped out into the hall and he could hear the television from the living room. He silently moved down the hall, past her bedroom, around the corner and to the linen closet. He opened the door without a noise and pulled out sheets. Closing the door he turned and jumped back.

"Why are you up?" She asked.

Liam couldn't look at her. He looked at the floor. "I n…needed new sh…sheets." He tried to get out.

"Why do you need new sheets?" she scowled at him.

"I…uh…wet m…my bed." Liam stammered still unable to look up.

"Liam, what happens when you wet the bed?" Candice asked in an angry tone.

"I g…get the b…belt." Liam started to cry.

"That's right! Get you're ass in there!" Candice yelled.

He dropped the sheets and ran to his room. Candice went back to her room and grabbed the belt hanging over a chair. She walked to her son's room where he was waiting. The only light in the room came streaming through the doorway from out in the hall. Her body cast a horrifically long shadow across his bed and up the wall.

"Lay down." She commanded as she stood beside the stripped bed.

Liam laid on his stomach. She pulled his pj's off his backside with her left hand. She lifted the belt in her right and came down with it as hard as she could.

Thwack.

He had leaned not to scream, protest or move.

Thwack.

She seemed to let him cry as long as he didn't make a sound. The tears fell as the buckle came down a third time.

Thwack.

The first few whips with the buckle hurt.

Thwack.

After a few times it stung more than hurt.

Thwack.

The sound of the buckle hitting him was almost as bad as the contact itself.

Thwack.

"What happens to you when you wet the bed?"

Liam chocked on his tears. "I g…get t…the b…belt."

"And after that?" Candice asked.

"A c…cold sh…shower." Liam managed to get out through the pain.

"Get up." She demanded as she walked out of the room, down the hall and into the bathroom.

Liam did as he was told and followed her. Candice watched as he took off his pajamas and got into the shower. She turned the cold-water tap all the way and pulled the small device to make the water run through the showerhead. As the water hit his body Liam whimpered. _It was so cold._

She peered into the shower where her son was standing. "Are you gonna wet the fuckin' bed again?"

"Noooo." Liam cried as the front of his body started to become numb from the water.

"Turn around."

Liam tuned and the water hit his backside first. He inhaled sharply as the water came into contact with the raw flesh.

"Stop wetting the fuckin' bed!"

He started to cry harder. "I w…will." The cold water was now on his back as well. _It was so cold._

"Stop lying to me about wetting the bed, Liam. You're nothing but a no-good, lying piece of garbage! I should throw you away!" Candice screamed.

"Pl…please d…don't. I wo…won't do i..it a…again." Liam pleaded.

Candice shut off the water. She looked at him one last time before leaving the bathroom. "You're lying, Liam. Mommy knows you're lying."

Liam shook as he got out of the tub and out of the bathroom. He took a towel out of the linen closet and wrapped it around himself. He picked up the sheets from the floor and got his pajamas out of the bathroom. Liam dried himself, put his clothing on and put the sheets on his bed. When he crawled in under the sheets he was shivering. When he woke up in the morning he was still shivering.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Ground Work**

**Residence of A.D.A. Cabot, Detective Benson and Jess O'Malley**

**310 Central Park West**

**Tuesday, May 10****th****, 06:01**

Jess reached over and grabbed her iPhone off the bedside table to her right. Without opening her eyes she moved her thumb over the device and managed to shut the alarm off. She sighed slightly and fell back into sleep.

Alex woke before the alarm went off. She slowly leaned back and found her cell phone on the bedside table. She brought it to her face and used her thumb to maneuver around in the menus. She shut the alarm function off and dropped the phone behind her. Alex placed her arm back over Olivia and her hand rested on the detective's. _Five minutes…just five more minutes._

"Why'd you do that?" Olivia asked in a sleepy tone.

"Do what, baby?" Alex held her girlfriend a little tighter but spoke in an equally sleepy tone.

"Move…"

"I'm sorry, Liv. Shhhh…go back to sleep." Alex nuzzled her lover's neck.

"Wha time is it?" Olivia was struggling to stay awake.

"Time to sleep." Alex cooed.

"Liar…" Olivia whispered.

Alex giggled. "How did you know?"

"Mmmmm…you let go of my hand and you're playing with my nipple." It was said in a lazy but far more alert tone.

"Oh, so I am." Alex said quietly as she pinched a little.

"Hhhhhaaaa…how much time do we have…" Olivia exhaled.

"Enough for me to make love to you…" Alex slid her left hand down her detective's hard stomach and tried to push it between her thighs.

"That's not good enough." Olivia mused. She turned quickly to face her lover. She opened her eyes and was met by electric blue ones. "I want _us_ to make love." The brunette captured Alex's soft lips in a kiss. It was sweet and playful. The A.D.A. pushed gently and Olivia let her tongue in to explore.

Olivia let her right hand roam down Alex's tight stomach. She tried to force it between the alabaster thighs and was only granted access when Alex lifted her left leg and placed her foot flat on the bed. The tall blonde demanded the same of her lover. Olivia lifted her right leg and placed her foot flat on the bed. She and the detective slipped their hands over each other's navels and down each other's abdomens. They reached the other's clits at the same time and started to play.

The kiss broke as they started to concentrate on other things. _It felt so good_. They grinded against each other as they stimulated the other's clit.

"I'm going to make you come." Alex breathed hard.

"Not if I m…ake you come f…first." Olivia panted.

They pushed a finger inside the other at the same time as they thrust together.

"Hhhh….harder." Alex whined.

"I w…ant…moore…" Olivia begged.

With that they each sunk another finger inside the other with ease. They grinded harder against each other but it wasn't enough. Olivia pushed as hard as she could against her girlfriend and made her fall on to her back on the bed. The detective landed between her legs. She immediately spread her own legs wider, forcing Alex's up and farther apart.

"Yeeessss." Alex hissed as a third finger was pushed inside her. She started to buck her hips.

Olivia leaned over the blonde and put her left hand down on the bed for leverage. With her legs spread wider Alex sunk a third finger inside her sex. The detective bent her head down slightly and started to thrust her hips in time with Alex's. "Uhhhh, uhhhh, uhhhh…so close."

"Meeee, toooo. Dooon't st…stoppp, Liiivvv." Alex panted.

Their pace became frenzied the closer they got to their orgasms. It became harder to concentrate with all the pleasure. Olivia found one of the pink nippless of her lover and sucked at it.

"Uhhhh…uhhhh…harder." Alex begged.

The detective sucked harder and even bit down slightly on the little erect mound. Alex grabbed the small of Olivia's back with her right hand and forced her down. The detective's abdomen came in contact with blonde's wrist. The more Alex pushed her down the hard the contact became. Olivia started to rock back and forth on her girlfriend's wrist. The feeling of her lower abdomen against something so hard made the detective squeal with pleasure.

"Awww…awww…yeeessss…f…uck…I'm gonnnna commme."

They held on as long as they could. Alex couldn't take the sensation in her sex and on her nipple any longer. The walls of her sex contracted around Olivia's fingers. Alex held her right hand against her lover's lower back. The pleasure the blonde was giving her; not only inside her but also by forcing her pelvic bone across her wrist with every thrust became too much. Olivia finally let go and rode out her orgasm. She collapsed against the A.D.A.

"Good morning, Counselor." It came out in a deep tone that drove Alex crazy.

"Good morning, Detective."

The pair showered and headed to the kitchen where they expected to see their daughter and a pot of coffee; they found neither. Olivia walked in first and turned on the light. She walked over to the coffee maker and turned it on. Alex strode in after. "Its 6:45, why isn't Jess up?"

Olivia shrugged and turned to her girlfriend. She leaned against the counter. "Not sure. She did this twice last week to me when you were up in Albany. I had to go into her room and wake her."

Alex had pulled two mugs out of a cupboard and walked to her lover. She set the mugs on the counter but was in her detective's personal space. "She did this to me yesterday. You were already gone but when I came into the kitchen she wasn't up yet. I had to go and wake her." The A.D.A. picked Olivia up under her backside and set her on the counter. She stood between the brunette's thighs and kissed her. When the kiss ended Olivia spoke first. "Do you think we should be worried about her?"

With a raised brow the blonde spoke. "I'm concerned because it's not like her. We've known her for almost a year and she has never repeatedly slept in like this."

The detective sighed as she looked into the beautiful blue eyes of her girlfriend behind the black framed glasses. "I mean it's clear she doesn't want to wake up, she's not setting her alarm on purpose. Why?"

"I don't know. Think we should talk to her about it?"

"Not sure it would make a difference. Jess needs to come to us on her own time. I think we have forced her enough over the last few months to say and do things." Olivia put her hands on Alex's shoulders. "I'll go get her. It's way too late to make a full breakfast. It'll be cereal or Eggos this morning."

Alex kissed her detective and then moved so she could hop down off the counter. Olivia left the kitchen and headed for Jess's bedroom. She opened the door and found the teen sound asleep on her stomach in bed. There was enough light in the room that Olivia could maneuver with ease. She walked over to the bed and lay down on the side that was empty. The detective stroked Jess's hair. The tiny brunette felt the light touch and a small grin appeared on her lips. She inhaled the faint scent of Olivia's shampoo mixed with perfume.

When Jess didn't move the detective pulled the covers back slowly and exposed the teen's back. She was clad in light blue tank-top. Olivia looked down at the name scrolled across her daughter's left shoulder blade. 'Benson'. Jess had been honest about what she used the money that she had gotten from the guys in the squad, her Aunt Abbie and Casey Novak for. She and Alex had been furious with her. Jess was only 16; it was completely illegal for her to get a tattoo. What's done is done and the tattoos were a bell that couldn't be un-rung. As Olivia looked at the black letters now she was far less angry. She had worried and fought so hard for the piece of paper legally connecting her and Jess forever; the detective could understand why her daughter would want something like the tattoo to solidify their bond.

Olivia ran her right hand over her last name that was permanently etched on Jess. It was flattering in a totally illegal sort of way. "Wake up, Jessie." She whispered.

Jess moved into her pseudo mother's personal space. "Don't want to." She said in a sleepy tone.

The detective rubbed her daughter's back. "It's time, Kid."

"Nu-uh. Just stay here with me." Jess nuzzled Olivia's stomach as she spoke.

"Can't sweetheart." She giggled at the tickling sensation. "I have work and you have school then work then homework."

"Can I please come to the squad room today and study?" Jess took a handful of Olivia's shirt in her left fist and snuggled tight against the detective.

"We talked about this already. We're working a case with Narcotics and I don't want you in the bullpen until the case is closed."

"I'm not gonna talk, I just wanna study." The statement came out in a half-whine half-sad tone.

"Jessie," Olivia stroked the teen's hair knowing she was taking it personally that she wasn't allowed at the station house. "The squad is not a place for kids. While the guys have gotten use to you being there it's still not common practice. The detectives from Narcotics aren't going to understand. If they take it to their Captain that you're hanging out there, Cragen could get in a lotta trouble."

"Okay, I get it." She said in a defeated tone. Over the last two weeks Jess had become unbelievably busy. School was wrapping up and there were final projects and papers due in every class; not to mention exams next week. She had therapy and vocal lessons once a week, work after school every day and now she was being denied one of the only places that brought her peace.

Olivia sighed. "I'll make you a deal. When you leave work today call me. If the NARCs are out in the field you can come by and study. El and I are working a separate case so it's possible they'll be out and we'll be in."

Jess smiled and pushed Olivia onto her back as she rolled on top of her. "Thanks, Livie."

The brunette looked up into the green eyes that seem very awake now and smiled. "You're welcome."

When they joined Alex in the kitchen the coffee was ready and she had poured Olivia a cup. Jess made bagels for breakfast and joined the older women at the kitchen table with a mug of chocolate milk. Alex looked at her. "What's on the docket for today?"

"I have an exam prep classes in trigonometry and English. Then I'm headed down to work. Morales needs some help with a code. After that it's to WKA Inc for an hour with the band and then the squad to study." Jess took a bite from her bagel.

Alex looked at Olivia over her glasses as she spoke to their daughter. "You're going to the squad?"

"Only if the NARCs aren't there." Jess cleared her throat hoping to take attention off Olivia. "What's on the docket for you today?"

It worked. The A.D.A. looked at the smaller brunette. "Two arraignment hearings before lunch and then prep in the afternoon. I'll be home for dinner so if the NARCs are at the station house come home."

Jess nodded. "Will do. Aunt Abbie's coming next Monday. Is there gonna be another poker night?"

Olivia and Alex looked at each other. "God, I hope not." They said in unison.

"Why?" Jess narrowed her eyes. "It was so funny."

"Yeah, for you maybe." Alex said with a raised right eyebrow as she looked at her daughter.

"You weren't drinking the shots and you weren't hung-over the next day."

Jess's eyes widened. "That wasn't my choice." She pointed to Olivia. "You wouldn't let me drink." She put her hand on her chest. "I would have taken my shots."

"And that would have been illegal, not to mention a poor parenting choice on our part." Alex said trying to defuse the blame game before it got started.

"Lots of parents let their kids drink before they are 21. It's not like I wanted to get wasted at a party somewhere. I wanted to take my shots in the poker game here at home." Jess tried to remain calm in the hopes that next time they might let her drink.

"I understand that you wanted to play the game. Jess, you're 16 and that's just too young to get drunk even if it is at home with me and Alex around." Olivia said. "Maybe when you're a little older."

She had learned not to push Olivia. The detective always won especially when the A.D.A. agreed with her. Jess shrugged and went back to eating her breakfast.

**Manhattan's SVU Squad Room**

**Tuesday, May 10****th****, 09:52**

Cragen walked into the bullpen from his office. "I need an update on the Carlos Ramirez cases."

Detective Craig Luck looked up from the desk he now sat behind. It was next to his old partner Fin. Across from Luck was his current partner Detective Curtis Martin, who was sitting at a desk beside Munch. "Yes, Sir. The club and piano bar are usually pretty quiet during the day as neither is open. We are going to start surveillance tonight about an hour before each place opens."

The Captain nodded. "What time do they open?"

Fin looked at him. "Island opens around 9PM and Mojito opens around 7PM."

"Why are we staking out the piano bar?" Cragen folded his arms across his chest.

Curtis addressed the Captain. "We're pretty sure he's running the drugs out of Island and the girls out of Mojito. In the last contact we had with our CI he said there were private rooms in the back of Mojito where the Johns take the girls."

Munch looked over his glasses at the Captain. "We're gonna need more manpower. Surveillance is only going to get us so far. We need two teams, one for each location. They are going to have to infiltrate and actually participate in a set-up at each place."

Luck looked at everyone but ended at the Captain. "We may have enough people in Narcotics to take Island; it's what we're trained to do." He shook his head. "Mojito is something else. We're not trained to handle the victims the way this squad is."

Cragen nodded and looked at Luck. "Round up a team of your people and start to infiltrate Island. I'm aware the case is about taking down Ramirez's empire and the locations are linked because of that but that doesn't mean we have to be on top of each other. It only means we have to work in tandem."

The Detectives nodded at him. Fin spoke next. "We'll set up our own team. One of us can go in undercover. We have a lot of intel, thanks to Narcotics. Lucia," Fin held up a surveillance photo taken with a telephoto lens from outside Mojito. "is Ramirez's girlfriend."

The Captain looked at the photo. "Whatta wanna bet she's on the wrong side of legal."

Fin set the picture down. "I know we have to work in tandem with the bust at Island but we need to make this happen…now."

Luck looked at him. "I wouldn't be so quick to roll up in there. Ramirez and his business manager, Juan Rios, are very slippery, very smart and very dangerous. We've been building the drug case against them for nine months. We came across the prostitution ring about a month ago and only last week got a guy in there to turn on Ramirez and help us."

Fin looked at Luck. "Can you put us in contact with your guy?"

The detective nodded. "Sure."

Cragen nodded and unfolded his arms. "We take this slow for the next few days. I still want surveillance on both places tonight. Fin, Munch I want you both at Mojito since we'll be taking the prostitution of minors collar. Luck, Curtis you two take Island."

The foursome nodded and the Captain turned to Olivia and Elliot. "What is happening with the Andrews case?"

The partners looked across their desks at each other and then at their Captain. "We're sure Liam Andrews is being abused." Olivia said.

"What makes you so sure?" Cragain asked.

"His teacher called us with concerns. I mean what elementary school teacher in the public system with 37 kids in her class calls the cops with concerns if there isn't an obvious reason." Elliot said.

Cragen crossed his arms again. "Well, what were the teacher's _concerns_?"

Olivia's eyes widen slightly at the tone her Captain had taken. The detective looked through her notepad. "Ms. Burrows said that Liam is terrified of his mother when she picks him up."

"Define terrified."

Benson read further. "She says that he looks sad most of the time but when he sees his mother he looks scared. She also said he won't sit for long periods of time even when he is told to."

"So he looks scared and he's defiant. You two have spent three days on this case you must have something else besides this kid not wanting to sit when he is told to."

Stabler nodded as he referred to his notepad. "We canvassed the building he and his mother live at. The neighbor directly below their apartment says that she can hear Candice, the mother, screaming at Liam late at night. She's says the screaming is always followed by the shower running."

Benson flipped the pages of her notepad. "We called DCFS and no one has ever laid a complaint against Candice Andrews so there's no history of abuse."

"Did you talk to Liam Andrews when you saw him in his classroom?" Cragen asked.

Elliot looked up. "We can't without his mother's consent. We didn't want to tip her off that the teacher had concerns or that she called us."

"You won't be able to obtain his medical records without his mother's permission either." Cragen sighed. "What are we thinking?"

Stabler threw his notepad on his desk. "This kid is being abused."

Olivia nodded. "He had that withdrawn look. He keeps to himself and doesn't talk in class."

Elliot ran his right hand over his jaw and inhaled. "Why wouldn't he sit in class?" He exhaled. "That's not normal; he's four years old. My gut's tellin' me this kid is being hurt."

"He's a little boy who is terrified by his mother. Maybe she's hitting in places that are covered by his clothing; like his backside."

"That would explain why he doesn't want to sit-down, it hurts too much." Elliot said with a raised brow.

"We need more than your gut, a theory about abuse and a teacher's concerns. Find something concrete in the next 24 hours or turn _your_ concerns over to DCFS. We can't investigate this without a complaint or evidence."

The pair nodded and Cragen went back to his office.

**Outside of WKA Inc.**

**Meatpacking District, Manhattan **

**Tuesday, May 10****th****, 14:45**

Richard had been finished school for about a week. It was the first time he had accompanied his girlfriend to her vocal lesson. Jess was very talented and he had enjoyed listening to her work with her vocal coach. As they walked east on West 13th Street in order to run into 8th Avenue they walked right past Island, the club they liked to dance at. Jess looked up at the building she passed in the daylight once a week now. "It's looks so much different during the day."

"No kidding. You'd never know it was the hottest club in New York." Richard grinned.

"Thank you." A man said as he exited a car that was parked at the curb in front of the club.

The young man narrowed his eyes. "You're welcome." He said causally as he stood somewhat in front of his girlfriend.

"Please, don't be worried. My name is Carlos, I own Island." He smiled nicely at the pair.

"Seriously?"

"No way."

Both teens were stunned.

"It's true. And I really mean it, thank you for the compliment."

"Sir, we love your club." Richard said smiling.

"We really do. We come here whenever we can." Jess smiled.

"I thought you two looked familiar. You're the under-agers who keep getting into my club. I've seen you in our security footage." Carlos Ramirez said with a slight grin.

The smiles on the teens' faces disappeared. "We're sorry, Sir." Jess said

"Really sorry. We just like coming here so much."

"We never drink; we just dance." The young woman tried to explain.

Carlos held up his hands to get them to stop falling over themselves. "I know, I know." He smiled at them. "How do you think you keep getting into my club?"

Richard answered. "Because we pay off your bouncers?"

The well-dressed man laughed. "My club pulls in millions of dollars. Do you really think slipping my bouncers a Grant is really gonna get two minors into the establishment?"

"If it's not the money than what does get us in?" Jess asked slightly annoyed he was laughing at them.

"Me." Carlos said simply. "I let you in."

"Why?" Jess asked. The guy seemed nice enough but she was irritated they had blown 50 bucks a night to get into a club that it appeared now they hadn't needed to buy their way into.

"Seems crazy, right?" Carlos had to play it cool, these kids were practically adults and where being raised by Detectives. The background Juan had dug up on these two was very helpful. He expected questions from them. "Why risk getting caught by the cops for having minors in my club? Truth is you guys are good."

Richard furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

"The way you dance. People like to watch you dance. In all honesty I was going to have you both thrown out of Island the first night you walked in here. You tore up the dance floor and people started watching you, ordering drinks and dancing. Sales went up that night. When you both came in the next Saturday it was the same deal. We were at capacity early and liquor sales were up over the week before. You two started showing up pretty regularly and our sales went up accordingly. Truth be told, I should probably start paying you both for your performances."

Both teens had grins on their faces. "Maybe you should start by just letting us in, minus the Grant." Jess cocked her right brow as she spoke.

Carlos smiled. "Consider it done. What are you two doing out here now. You normally come on Friday or Saturday night."

"Oh, we're coming from WKA Inc. down the street." Richard pointed behind him.

"You're recording an album?" Carlos feigned interest.

"No, no…nothing like that. I'm taking vocal lessons there."

"You sing?" He smiled sweetly at the young woman that piqued his interest so much.

Jess shrugged. "I guess."

"She really can sing. She's just shy." Richard interjected.

"Huh…really? What kind of music do you sing?"

The tiny brunette looked down at the sidewalk. "I concentrated on stuff accompanied by piano for two months and for the last three I've been working with a band. My coach says that working with just the piano was the best way to learn and build my confidence." Jess shrugged. "She's right, I couldn't have started with a band right away."

"I'd love to hear you sing sometime. I actually own a piano bar called Moijto. I'm always looking for new talent. You should come by sometime and sing for me." Carlos pulled out his wallet from the back pocket of his dress pants.

"I'm not sure. I'm not really good." Jess said still looking down at the sidewalk.

"Nonsense." Carlos said as he pulled out a card from the wallet. He offered it to Jess. "Please, take my card. Call me soon and we'll set up an appointment at Moijto. It's the very least I could do given all the money you've sunk into Island."

That made Jess smile. She looked up and took the card from him. He smiled and looked at Richard. "As her manager, I trust you will be accompanying her to the meeting."

The young man nodded and smiled.

"Good. Whenever you're ready Ms.?"

"O'Malley. And this is my manager, Mr. Stabler."

Carlos shook both teenagers' hands and they said goodbye. They watched him walk up the stairs and unlock the doors to Island. "I can't believe we just met the owner of Island!" Jess grinned as she faced her boyfriend.

"I can't believe he wants you to sing for him. You really should, you know. It would be a good chance for you to get out there and sing for someone."

Jess shrugged. "Maybe."

They continued on their way towards 8th Avenue in order to catch the subway. Jess called Olivia for the status of the NARCs that had invaded the bullpen. She explained that they had gone home early to sleep because they were on detail later that night. At the subway the couple parted ways. Richard was going home and Jess was going to the stationhouse.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: Tears**

**Manhattan's SVU Squad Room**

**Tuesday, May 10****th****, 15:00**

The shrill ring of the phone on her desk startled Olivia. She picked it up. "Special Victims Unit, Benson speaking."

Elliot only heard his partner's half of the short conversation but he could tell by her face he wasn't going to like what the person on the other end was saying. She hung up. "That was Liam Andrews school calling. He just collapsed in class and they called 911." Both partners stood and grabbed their jackets. "He stood all day and finally just passed out."

**Mercy General Hospital**

**365 West 32****nd**** Street**

**Tuesday, May 10****th****, 15:30**

Benson and Stabler showed their ID's and badges to the nurse and were led to the exam room in the ER where Liam Andrews had been brought. They entered the room and showed their credentials to the doctor. He nodded at them and the partners stepped closer to Liam. He was lying on his stomach with his face buried in his hand. Olivia leaned down closer to his face. "Liam, my name is Olivia can I talk to you for a minute?"

Silence.

"I understand you're scared, I just want to talk for a second and then you won't have to talk again." She continued.

Silence.

Stabler bent down and his partner stood up. "Liam, buddy I know you're tired. I know you stood all day. My name is Elliot and I just want to help you."

"How?" The little boy didn't move his head and the word came out muffled but at least he spoke.

"I'm a police officer. I help kids just like you who are tired and scared. Do you want help?" Elliot was now squatting beside the bed.

Liam turned his head to the male voice and nodded.

Elliot grinned slightly to show Liam he wasn't a scary person. "That's good. I'm proud of you." Having been a Special Victims Unit detective for years he knew that the doctor was going to have to exam Liam and collect evidence, including pictures of any lacerations or bruising. "The doctor needs to examine you; he needs to look at your body and touch it and maybe take some pictures of you. I know it's scary but it's how we're going to help you. I can stay with you when he examines you, if you want."

The little one nodded. "Okay." The word was barley audible. Elliot stood up and nodded to the doctor. Liam thought he was leaving and reached out for him with his left hand. Stabler looked down and took the tiny hand. He knelt back down so he was at eye level with the four-year-old.

If their instincts were correct and Candice Andrews was abusing her son, Liam would open up easier to Elliot than to Olivia. The partners made eye contact and nodded. Olivia went out to the hall and called DCFS. Liam was going to need immediate foster placement. She also needed to question Liam's teacher, again. The doctor examining Liam put ointment on his backside to numb the area. After the exam the doctor gave Liam a tube of ointment and explained to him that when his backside hurt to go to the bathroom and put some of it on and it would make it stop hurting.

**Manhattan's SVU Squad Room**

**Tuesday, May 10****th****, 15:33**

When Jess entered the bullpen there a few things that were 'off' about the room. First she noticed that there wasn't a single person in it and second the media board was gone. The teen remembered that when the squad worked on sensitive cases they sometimes moved the board into the meeting room. Considering they were working with Narcotics this could be one of _those_ cases. She had half a mind to open the door to the meeting room and snoop around. _Probably not a good life choice._ Jess dumped her laptop bag on her desk, which was facing Olivia and Elliot's. The teen took off her jacket and threw it over the back of her chair. She hadn't been sleeping well for two weeks. School was hectic, practice with the band was fun but a lot of work, therapy was helping with her with her feelings but sometimes it just didn't seem like enough. She wished Olivia and Alex were around more. It was only recently that she felt this way but Jess felt a pull to them and wasn't getting enough from either woman. Her feelings and thoughts got the best of her sometimes. While she seemed to have pent-up anger and energy when it came to them she had a hard time focusing on everything. She needed release.

Jess walked through the entire squad room, including interrogation rooms and the crib._ Nobody_. She ended in the locker room. She opened her locker which she had claimed months earlier and pulled out a tank top and sports bra. She changed into these items and grabbed the white tape off the bench in the room. She wrapped her hands the way Munch had taught her and threw some House music on her iPhone. Jess stuck the ear buds in her ears, put on the gloves that were lying on the bench and stepped up to the punching bag. She threw punches and moved the bag around until she couldn't lift her arms at all. The tiny brunette was heaving and sweating. After the last punch she threw her hands, still in the gloves, behind her head in order to get more air in her lungs. She didn't know why but every time she fought with the bag she felt better, almost as if she had gone ten rounds with herself and won.

Her breathing returned to somewhat normal and she ripped off the gloves. Jess un-wound the tape on her hands and tossed it in the garbage can. She grabbed the clothing she had walked into the squad wearing and headed for the women's bathroom. The teen cleaned up as best as she could given there were no showers and put back on her regular clothing. Jess finally stopped the music and pulled the ear buds out. 16:45, _it was time to get down to studying_.

As she exited the bathroom she had to walk by two rooms that couldn't be seen unless you went down the hall to the bathroom. Both rooms were used to hold and sometimes question victims. It was the biggest reason the rooms couldn't be seen from the squad room itself. One room looked like a cheap living room. It had a couch, two chairs and a coffee table but was decorated tastefully and was supposed to help put victims' minds at ease. Having been a victim herself, Jess saw no reason why it would put anyone's mind at ease. The other room was decorated like a daycare center. Clearly its sole purpose was to question young victims. Over time the teen had seen this second room used a fair amount. There were times when she had asked permission to go in and talk with the victims and the detectives had let her. She was really good with kids and usually just played with them. She never questioned them, she just sort of passed time with them.

When she walked by the second room she caught a glimpse of something. She stopped and looked harder. Elliot was in the room sitting in a chair that was far too small for him. Sitting in a chair across the table from him was a little boy. He couldn't have been more than four or five. The pair sat at a table and the child was colouring; Elliot appeared to be talking. Jess knocked gently on the door and Elliot looked up. He addressed the child and the boy looked at the young woman standing on the other side of the door. Jess grinned slightly, trying not to look intimidating and waved at little at the boy. The child looked at Elliot and said something. The detective looked at Jess and nodded. The teenager entered the room and closed the door. She slowly walked over to the table and took the third chair, between Elliot and the boy. Stabler looked at Liam but spoke to the young woman. "Jess, this is Liam. Liam this is my friend, Jess."

The child didn't look up so Jess addressed him. "Hey, Liam. I really like that picture you're colouring. You're really good at that."

"Thanks." He said but didn't look up.

"Do you like colouring?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"Do you like kittens?" Jess spoke clearly and calmly to every victim Elliot had ever seen her with. It wasn't very often they let her come into this room and interact with a victim. It wasn't usually a safe thing for anyone. On rare occasion it had seemed like a good idea. Abusers of children tended to be adults in their lives so it was hard to get them to trust an adult. Jess was small in stature and looked young. She seemed to be far less threatening and gained young victims' trust easily. It didn't mean the squad used the teen to do this but if she was there and the victim needed a friend they hadn't seen the harm and were always monitoring the interaction. The picture Liam was colouring was of two kittens.

Two green eyes met Jess's for the first time. "Yes."

Jess smiled at Liam. "Me, too. Do you think I could colour with you?"

The little boy nodded and moved the colouring book so it was between him and Jess. "You wanna colour this side?"

"Sure." Jess smiled at him.

Elliot wanted to see if his partner and Captain were back in the squad with Candice Andrews yet. During the exam they found the most recent injures as well as evidence of long-standing abuse. Liam admitted that it was his mother who hit him with a belt for wetting the bed. Stabler had questioned him a little more but with the irrefutable evidence they had, he sent Olivia and Cragen to pick Candice up at work. The detective looked between the pair colouring. "I'm gonna go and grab a snack from the vending machine. Liam, are you going to be okay here with Jess?"

Liam looked up at Elliot. "Yeah, we're colouring." He said it matter-of-factly as if he and Jess had known each other for years and Elliot was a little crazy for even asking. It always amazed Stabler how easily children could trust. They normally hadn't seen enough to be skeptical about peoples' motives. They usually just wanted someone to play with them or listen to them. Since Jess was doing both, Liam liked her.

"Okay." He smiled at Jess. "You got this?" It was said with a look more than the tone of voice. He was trusting her with the victim and it was something he had never done before; none of the detectives had.

She knew he wouldn't be standing outside the room monitoring. She knew the look meant he was leaving her alone with this little boy and he needed her to take care of him. Jess nodded back. "Of course."

Elliot nodded and looked very seriously at her, something he had only done on a few occasions. "I trust you."

Jess showed no fear but sat a little straighter in the small chair. "I won't let you down." She turned her attention to Liam. "So Liam, what should we name the kittens?"

The detective stood up and left the room, closing the door behind him. He went to the bullpen just in time to see Olivia and his Captain haul Candice Andrews in. Benson sat Andrews in Interview One and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Alex walked in; Elliot had called her when he was leaving the hospital with Liam. The partners, their Captain and A.D.A. looked through the glass at her.

"Good cop, bad cop?" Olivia asked.

"Bad cop, bad cop." Elliot answered.

"We need a confession." Cragen said.

"Oh…I'll get one." Stabler crossed his arms over his chest.

Olivia sighed. "If we go in there guns blazing I don't think we're gonna get very far."

"You saw the images on the digital camera at the hospital. You saw what she did to that little boy. I'm gonna show her just as much mercy as she showed her son."

"Elliot…" Cragen started but Alex interrupted.

"You want to help that little boy? Get a confession out of his mother the right way; spare him the trial. He's four years old, I'm not even sure I will be able to get him on the stand. Even if I do what kind of a testimony is he going to be capable of?"

Stabler sighed. "I want bad cop."

Benson nodded. Cragen and Stabler saw the nod in her reflection off the glass. "Where's Liam?" The Captain asked.

"In the kids' room with Jess."

Olivia turned her head and looked directly at her partner. "You left Jess alone with a victim?"

Elliot turned and locked eyes with her. "She's got _it_. I saw it, she's got _it_."

"She's sixteen years old, Elliot." Olivia's eyes widened. "She doesn't have _it_. She's too young, has no training and she's a victim herself. You can't lay this on her doorstep."

"I saw it in her eyes. Liv, she knows how to be with a Vic, she does. I saw _it_."

Benson narrowed her eyes and spat back at her partner. "Don't you _ever_ say that again. Jess doesn't have _it_. I _never_ want this life for her. She will never be a cop. She will never be allowed to be what we are." Olivia pointed at Elliot. "Don't ever tell my daughter she has _it_. Don't ever leave her alone with a Vic again."

Cragen and Alex looked between the partners. "I'll monitor Jess and Liam. The two of you check this at the door and get a confession out of Ms. Andrews." The Captain said before leaving the small room. Alex shook her head at Elliot but stayed to watch the interview. The detectives went into the interrogation room. They went at her for an hour but managed to get a confession out of the monster.

Alex and Olivia watched Jess and Liam interact through the glass in the door of the childrens' room. The A.D.A. had watch Candice's interrogation until the partners broke the woman. Elliot had taken her down for processing and left her in a holding cell. When he came upstairs he had found his partner and her girlfriend standing at the door to the room they used to interview children. He looked at Olivia and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry."

The blonde knew he wasn't talking to her. She didn't say anything but didn't leave either. Olivia looked at him and spoke softly. "Do you think I don't see she has _it_? You think I can ignore her natural ability to gain a victim's trust?"

He sucked in his left cheek and bit on it slightly. "No."

"If she was your daughter would you tell her she has that talent and she could help a lot of people through what might possibly be the worst thing that has ever happened to them?"

Elliot looked into the room. She watched Jess smile and say something to Liam. The little boy laughed and said something back. As far as he was concerned Jess _was_ his. He would do anything to keep her safe; keep her whole. "No."

Olivia closed her eyes and let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding in. She opened her eyes and looked at Jess. "Thank you."

He looked at his partner and then at Alex. "I really am sorry."

Olivia met his eyes. "I know you are."

Alex nodded but stayed silent. This was something Olivia and Elliot had to work out on their own.

Stabler nodded to both women and left. Alex looked at Olivia. "Wanna talk about it?"

The detective looked at her girlfriend and grinned slightly. "Not at all. Thanks for not stepping in. I had to stand my ground with him. It's a cop thing."

"It's a partner thing." Alex said in a sly tone.

The grin on Olivia's lips faded. "Once a social worker gets here for Liam I am still gonna have paperwork. I wanna get my 5's started while everything is still fresh. I'm sorry, Al."

Alex smirked. "Hey, it's okay. Don't worry, Detective, I'll have my cake and eat it too where you are concerned when the time is right."

They heard a woman's heels approaching and changed their entire demeanor in a flash. Sharon Wilkinson turned the corner and walked towards them. They nodded to her and she nodded back. "I'm here for Liam Andrews."

Olivia nodded to the door and Sharon looked through the glass. She watched as Jess and Liam played with Lego on the floor. "Jess looks good, she looks happy."

The detective nodded slightly. "Thank you, she is."

Sharon looked at Olivia. "I know you and Jess will always blame me for taking her away from you that afternoon. Olivia I had to, it was my job."

The brunette met the social workers gaze. "I know it was. At the time I hated you but I know it was your job and not personally how you felt. You advocated for the adoption and I really have to thank you for that."

Wilkinson pursed her lips. "It was the best thing for Jess and that was my personal and professional concern all along. You're welcome." She smiled but it quickly faded as she turned her attention back to the door. "Liam's mother beat him with a belt buckle?"

Olivia nodded also looking back into the room. "Yup, for wetting the bed. There is a history of abuse. You should see the photos."

"Oh, I have. We've started a file on him and had the hospital send over a copy of his medical record. I'm going to take him with me tonight. We are going to try and place him with a family tomorrow."

The detective nodded. "Okay." She opened the door and she and Sharon walked into the room. Jess and Liam stood up and the teen introduced the little boy to the pair and Sharon took over. When he heard that he had to leave the room and go with the social worker he lost it. Liam grabbed Jess around the waist. "Please don't make me go. I wanna stay with you."

This had never happened before. Jess tried to remain calm. She put her arms around him. "Liam, you have go with Sharon. She's going to take you someplace safe and get you some dinner."

"I…I don't want dinner." He said in his little kid voice. "I wanna stay here with you."

"I'm sorry, Liam, you can't."

"Please…I'll be good." He cried.

"I know you're a good boy. I can't take care of you, Liam. I'm sorry."

Sharon Wilkinson stepped in and started to pry the child's arms from around the teenager. Liam started screaming. "No….noooo…I wanna stay with Jeeessss."

Jess let go of the four-year-old and Sharon had him totally in her arms. "I'm sorry, Liam." Jess said through tears in her eyes.

"Pppplease…I want Jeeesss." He wailed as Sharon took him from the room. Alex watched the social worker leaving with the screaming child. Her eyes met Elliot's, who had come running when he heard the screaming. "I think Jess needs a break from this place."

He nodded. "I told you both I was sorry."

"I know you did. It isn't us that need convincing about Jess's presences in this squad room."

Elliot looked in at Jess and his partner. "I'll talk to Jess."

Alex nodded and walked into the room.

Olivia looked at her daughter. "I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

The younger brunette looked up at the older one. "Can we take him?"

The detective's eyes widened. "No."

"You didn't even ask Allie." Jess said through her tears as she gestured to the tall blonde now standing beside the detective.

"I know her answer would be the same."

"She's right, Jessie. We couldn't take him in."

"Why not. He needs a home."

Olivia furrowed her brow. "Yes he does, but that doesn't mean we should take him to ours."

Jess narrowed her eyes. "Why not?"

"Jess, you know how many victims we see here. I can't take them home with me; that's just not how it works." Olivia tried to reason.

The teen's brow shot up. "You did with me."

Olivia sighed. "That's different; _you_ were different."

"How?" Jess asked shaking her head slightly. She pointed at the door Liam had left out of. "How is he different than me? He's scared and has no one to help him and no place to go." She dropped her arm to her side. "You picked me. You brought me home with you. Why not Liam? Why me and not him?"

The detective closed her eyes and sighed. She opened them to an upset teenager with dark green eyes. "I don't know. I wish I could tell you." Olivia swallowed hard. "I have never bonded with someone the way I have with you. I'm not talking about a victim. I'm talking about you, as a person. Yes, we were thrown together initially because you needed to be kept safe and that was my job. Somewhere in those few days we became something I never could have imagined. It was special, Jessie. _We_ are special. What we have isn't something that comes along everyday; it's a once in a lifetime bond." Olivia put her right hand on Jess's cheek. "I know you want to help Liam. I know you think we could just take him home with us and he would be loved and cared for but we can't. I'm not asking you to understand it but you need to learn to accept it." She dropped her hand from her daughter's cheek.

She couldn't, not at that moment. Jess knew what fresh new hell was in store for Liam Andrews. The group home tonight and maybe a Foster Family in the future; she would never see the little boy again. "I can't." She said softly looking between her quasi mothers. "It's too hard." Jess walked out of the room and to the bullpen.

Alex stood behind Olivia and put her arms around her. "Its tough being Mama Bear sometimes."

"It's tough explaining something to her that I don't understand myself. She has a point, Al. I did sort of pick her." Olivia held Alex's hands in hers.

The A.D.A. exhaled and tightened her hug around her girlfriend. "You picked each other. It wasn't even a conscious choice, Liv. She's too close to the situation right now to see that. Jess will come around. She knows what you two have isn't something either of you could have with anyone else. Give her time."

Olivia let her head fall gently onto Alex's shoulder. "Will you please take her home?"

"Of course. Try not to be too far behind us."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: Tendencies **

**Residence of A.D.A. Cabot, Detective Benson and Jess O'Malley**

**310 Central Park West**

**Tuesday, May 10****th****, 20:37**

Alex was in the den working on her cases while Jess preferred the living room to study. The condo was quiet so when the ring tone emanated from her iPhone on the coffee table it made Jess's breath catch in the throat. She recognized the personalized song, smiled and reached over for the phone.

"What's up, Cass?"

"Not much. I uhhh…have a question for you."

"Okay." Jess set her books aside in an automatic response to Casey Novak's tone; as if the woman was sitting in front of her demanding her undivided attention. "You can ask me anything you want."

Casey sighed. "I thought I could do this…over the phone." She didn't understand why she couldn't ask. Jess had been a godsend to her over the last few months; answering what seemed like hundreds of questions. It upset Casey that the pair shared the horrific experience of being sexually assaulted.

"Why don't I come over? It's no big deal, Cass, honestly." Jess knew it was a question regarding the strawberry blonde's recovery. While Casey was going to see a therapist she refused to go to group therapy. Olivia had told Jess to drop the subject and let Casey do what she needed to do. The teen had never disclosed how often she and Casey spoke about their attacks or feelings since.

"No, I don't want you out this late. Who's at home with you now?"

"Allie. She's working on a case. If you come over we can talk in my room or I can meet you in the lobby."

"I'll decide on the way and text you. Thanks, Shorty."

"No, problem. See ya soon."

The pair disconnected and fifteen minutes later Casey texted Jess. 'In your room.' The tiny brunette dumped her text and note book, again, and walked to the den. She stood in the doorway for a moment and watched her Mama work. The concentration she had, wielding the pen and looking through large books, was mesmerizing. Jess cleared her throat.

Alex grinned but continued to write. "Can I help you, Kid?"

"I don't know. Can you look up for a second and a half, or are you so OCD that you couldn't possibly?"

The A.D.A. stopped mid-stroke with her pen and looked up at her daughter. The grin was gone. "I don't have OCD."

Jess raised her brow. "You have tendencies."

"I would prefer things a certain way, that doesn't mean I have a medical condition." Alex straightened her back.

"You know, you're right, it just means you're anal." Jess grinned.

"I like what I like." Alex said in a slightly annoyed tone.

"You may not have a medical condition but you definitely have your neuroses." Jess continued to grin.

Alex smiled slowly. "Oh, I have neuroses? What about you and the shoes?"

"What about my shoes?" The grin disappeared.

"Where do I begin?" Alex giggled. She loved when she turned a situation on Jess and made her playfully argue with her. "You only buy one brand of them…"

"Cause DC's are the greatest shoes out there." Jess retorted without letting the A.D.A. finish.

"Well…" Alex said in a sly tone. "Why are they lined up, in a specific order at the door?"

"Because I…"

"Like what you like…" Alex started to laugh.

Jess crossed her arms but grinned. "What's your point?"

"Little girls who line their shoes up shouldn't make fun of big girls who do other things that are just as neurotic."

"Okay, okay…I get it." Jess said in a defeated tone.

"Is this a social call or do you need something?"

"Purely social. Cass is coming over and we are gonna hang out for a bit." Jess's normal tone returned.

"Aren't you studying?"

"I have been. I will after she leaves. She won't be here too long."

"Is this one of those times where I shouldn't really ask what's going on?"

Jess thought for a minute and answered slowly. "This is one of those times where less is more and you should try and trust me."

Knowing Jess and Casey were probably going to talk about something personal between them Alex let the subject go. It was strange but in some ways Alex was glad the pair had managed to help each other with some of their problems. She knew it was probably Jess that was helping Casey, but in doing that it helped Jess too. "Okay, I trust you."

"Thanks, Mama."

Ten minutes later Jess let Casey into the condo. Instead of staying in the living room, the reporter led the teenager in the bedroom. Jess shut the door and sat on the edge of her bed. Casey's at on the chair Jess used when she sat at her desk.

"Thanks for meeting me."

"No worries. It's good to see you, Cass. What's up?"

"This is pretty personal so if it's too much please let me know."

"I will."

"After your attack, how long was it before you and Richard….had sex?"

The question took Jess by surprise. Aside from Dr. Hendrix no one had ever asked her that. She hid her shock. "A few months. Even then, it was strange."

"Strange how?" Casey asked slowly.

Jess shrugged thinking back. "Calculated. Richard was really understanding. He knew what had happened to me and did whatever I told him to do…or not do. I needed to be in control, feel in control of what was happening. It wasn't very sexy. I became more comfortable with Richard, in time, and the act became much more natural."

"So you were honest with Richard about what happened to you?"

"Yeah, I mean parts he already knew, or assumed."

"How did he react to the whole truth?"

"Better than I thought he would. I assumed he would turn and run away from me. I assumed he wouldn't want to take on what happened to me; in a way he really had too. He was really great about everything and wanted to help me."

"So, if I was seeing someone do you think I should tell them about the assault?"

"I can't answer that; only you can." Jess pursed her lips. "Talking about what happened isn't an easy thing. It will probably make or break a relationship. If you are seeing someone at some point your assault will come up, it's inevitable. It's up to you when and how. Are you seeing someone?"

Casey nodded.

"Can I ask who?"

"D"

"Dillon? The Super from your building?"

"Yeah…" Casey said in an uneven tone.

Jess smiled. "He's really cute."

Casey smiled. "I know."

"When did this start?"

"About a month after I moved in. He asked me out for coffee. Coffee turned into dinner, dinner turned into drinks…"

"And now drinks have turned into your place or his?"

"Yup. What do I do?" The strawberry blonde asked in a painful tone.

"Cass, I can't tell you what to do. You have to make this decision for yourself. I can tell you this; D is a really great guy. He used to let me hang out with him when Livie worked late and Allie wasn't around. I would help him with odd jobs and then watch baseball or hockey with him. I don't know how he will react to what you will say to him but I can pretty much guarantee he will hear you out and not make you feel ashamed."

"But he will turn and run away, won't he?"

"I don't know. What happened to us isn't something most people think about. So when they are faced with it, with having to deal with it, their reaction is usually fear. They're scared for you and themselves because the assault changes the dynamic of a relationship. Dillon is a good guy. He may not know how to be in a relationship like that, he may not want to take it on. But I think he will be honest and understanding with you."

Casey nodded. "Thanks, Shorty." She hugged Jess.

"No problem." Jess shot her a sly look. "Does anyone else know about you and D?"

The reporter knew she was asking if Olivia and Alex knew. "No, no one else knows. Please keep it that way. I'm not sure its gonna last much past tomorrow night."

"You're gonna tell him?"

"Yeah, it's the right thing to do right now."

"Call me if life goes sideways."

"I will."

**Wednesday, May 11****th****, 00:12 **

Jess was sitting in the oversized chair in the living room when she heard the key in the lock. It startled her enough that she physically jumped. _What time was it?_ When Olivia came into the condo she was surprised to see the living room lights on. After taking off her shoes and putting her coat away she peered into the living room. "What are you still doing up?"

"Studying." Jess held up the notebook in her hand.

She had a textbook in her lap and other books scattered around her. The laptop, Olivia was surprised to see, was sitting on the coffee table; it was the furthest thing from Jess. "It's after midnight." Olivia smiled at her sympathetically as she walked up to her and sat on the end of the large couch.

"Finals are next week, I gotta cram." In all honesty, Jess would have ditched the books right there if Olivia offered to read a chapter of the novel she was reading to her.

"It's time for bed. I'm your adoptive mother and I'm telling you to go to bed." Olivia smiled and said it in a playful tone.

Jess grinned. "Will you stop being so clinical about who you are. You're my Mama, simple as that."

"So simple in fact that you had my name etched on yourself." It came out just as playful as the statement before.

"Admit it," Jess gave her a sideways look. "you like that I did that."

The detective sighed. The statement wasn't entirely untrue. "I dislike that you did something illegal and had yourself branded, twice." Her features softened and the right side of her mouth tugged up in a smile. "I am flattered by the gesture though."

The grin had morphed into a full-on smile. "I felt you touch it this morning."

"Alright, alright…I do like it."

Jess's smile faded. "You have to know I didn't do to make you angry or defy you in anyway." She shrugged. "I did it to become a part of you."

Olivia's face became serious. "You didn't have too…"

"I know." The teen cut her off. "It's how I wanted to do it. You got the adoption papers and I got your name on my back."

"I get it." Olivia nodded and smiled slightly. "I am serious about the time of night though. You need to go to bed and so do I."

The shorter brunette wanted to ask the taller one so badly to read to her or just lay with her. What had happened at the station house with Liam really upset her. She had wanted to see more of Olivia as it was but the pull seemed that much worse right now. "Livie…"

Yawning and standing up the detective looked down at Jess. "Yes?"

She just couldn't ask. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Kid." Olivia bent down and kissed Jess on the top of her head.

The pair went to bed. The detective curled up with her girlfriend and fell asleep almost instantly. Jess couldn't sleep. She studied some more and eventually fell asleep with her bedroom light on and books open on her bed.

**Manhattan's SVU Squad Room**

**Wednesday, May 11****th****, 16:37**

Fin and Munch had arrived about fifteen minutes earlier. Detectives Luck and Curtis had rolled in about five minutes after that. Cragen, Alex and Narcotics A.D.A. Chris Soberano came out of the Captain's office. "Updates people."

Luck started. "We put a team of six together and infiltrated Island last night. It seemed to be a light night. If Ramirez was running drugs at the club last night we didn't see it."

Curtis took over. "Clubs do most of their business on Friday and Saturday nights. Island appears to be grossing over a million dollars between to the two nights according to their financials. It seems like overkill if we're there tonight and Thursday night. Ramirez has pretty good security and we don't want to draw attention to ourselves by being at Island every night of the week. We decided to call off the team until Friday night. We'll hit the club both nights and see what shakes out."

A.D.A. Soberano looked between Luck and Curtis. "You guys have to catch Ramirez or Rios in the act or on tape with the drugs. Otherwise, we have no case."

Fin looked at his former partner. "There is a great Tech down at Computer Crimes, Morales. You should talk to him about hooking you up with some toys."

Luck nodded. "We'll talk to him."

"Is six enough bodies for Friday and Saturday night at a club that size?" Cragen asked.

"Not really." Luck shook his head. "It's all we could spare in Narcotics."

Cragen thought for a minute. "How many more do you need?"

Luck shrugged. "Four bodies, preferably female officers that look under the age of 28."

"You can have Benson and Stabler, they just turned in their DD5's on the Andrews case."

Curtis shook his head and grinned a little. "We ask for four females and we get one plus Stabler…this should be good."

"You're in luck guys, Stabler cleans up really nice, don't you?" Munch looked at him over his glasses.

Benson grinned. "John's right. Put my partner in a dress and look out fellas."

Stabler smirked. "Yup, go ahead. Laugh it up. Trust me, I'd be the hottest looking cross dresser there."

Fin looked at him with a grin on his face. "Stabler, man, no one is gonna argue that point with you."

Cragen smirked. "Fin's got a point, Elliot. I think you win the title of hottest cross dresser." He cleared his throat and looked at Fin. "How did it go last night at Mojito?"

"Members only piano bar. In order to get in you need a card."

Luck looked him. "Our guy can probably get that for you. Give him a call and get him to set you up."

Fin nodded. "Ramirez is definitely running women in there."

"What makes you so sure?" Cragen asked.

Munch looked at him. "Only men came in and out of the bar; all night, all men. Most were only in there for an hour or less."

Alex looked at them. "How many men?"

Fin looked at her. "Twenty, maybe twenty-five."

The A.D.A.'s eyes widened slightly. "We have to get enough on Ramirez to shut him down. Once you get inside the bar I'm going to need an estimate of how many victims are involved."

Munch and Fin nodded.

Cragen leaned on Olivia's desk. "How do you wanna play this?"

"First we need a card. I'll be wired and use it to get in. Munch and a TARU team outside can monitor me." Fin said matter-of-factly.

Stabler looked at him. "You wanna take him down in one night?"

Fin shrugged. "If the suspicions true he's whoring out teenagers. So, yeah I wanna take him out in one night."

Luck looked at his former partner. "I see where you're coming from. I know you wanna get those girls outta there. Ramirez is smart. I don't think he's gonna let anyone walk in there wearing a wire. Island is different. He has great security but the scale of traffic coming in and out is much lager than Mojito. There is only so much that can be controlled at a club the size of Island; anyone can get in. The piano bar is different. It's far smaller and a members only situation."

Cragen looked at Luck. "What are you suggesting?"

"That I go in without a wire." Fin answered as he looked at his old partner.

"Just the first time." Luck nodded. "You need to get the lay of the land before you go in there wired up and guns blazing."

Fin nodded. "Better play."

"Anyone else feeling hinky about Fin going in there un-armed without back up?" Munch asked.

"Yeah, I'm not lovin' this idea." Benson agreed as her eyes fell on the Captain. Everyone else's followed hers.

He raised his brow. "It's Fin's and Munch's case."

The partners looked at each other. "I'll have back-up. Munch will be outside."

Munch sighed and shook his head. "Not a great plan."

"It's the only plan. We gotta know what we're up against before we take Ramirez down."

"Fine." Munch said as he looked over the top of his glasses at his partner. "I'll be right outside."

**Mojito**

**Wednesday, May 11****th****, 17:02**

Richard and Jess had talked and they had agreed that an audition for Carlos Ramirez would be a good thing to do. They had been going to his club for months now and were intrigued by the man. When Jess called Carlos had been very nice and offered her a 5PM audition as long as it didn't interfere with her school. She said it didn't and accepted the meeting.

The pair sat at a table with Carlos and a young woman he had introduced as Lucia. Jess and Richard sipped sodas while Carlos nursed amber coloured liquor in a tumbler. Lucia drank water from a tall glass.

"Antonio is my pianist. He will accompany you for your audition." Carlos waved his hand.

Jess and Richard turned and saw a man nod to them and walk toward the piano. The teens turned back and nodded. Jess smiled as she got up. "Let me have a word with Antonio and I'll choose a song."

When she spoke to Antonio it was in perfect Spanish. She asked him what Carlos's favorite song was. When he told her, she knew she could perform it and asked him to play it. He obliged.

As Lucia eyes wandered between the woman singing and Carlos there was only one thing going through her mind-how was she going to get rid of Jess? The way her man was looking at the slightly younger woman reminded Lucia of how he used to look at her. There was only one way to keep Carlos's attention and that would be to get rid of this little tease.

Jess finished singing and Carlos started to clap. Richard and Lucia started as well. The tiny brunette reddened as she turned and thanked Antonio for accompanying her. She walked back to the table.

Carlos smiled. "You know, that's my favorite song."

"You can thank Antonio for that." Jess tried to hide how embarrassed she was at the attention the older man was giving her.

"I only have you to thank for performing it," he said as he sipped from his glass. He set it on the table. "You're very talented, Jess. I would like to offer you a job singing here. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights once you're done school for the summer." He looked at Richard. "As her manager, I assume you will be escorting Jess here those nights and staying to see her home at the end of the night?"

Richard nodded.

Carlos looked back at Jess. "You don't have to give me your answer right now. Think about it and let me know."

"Thank you so much for the opportunity. I will let you know."

The older man smiled at the teens. "Good. I hope to see you both at Island this weekend."

They smiled back. "Absolutely."

"We wouldn't miss a Saturday night." Jess's smile got bigger.

Richard cleared his throat. "I think we have taken up enough of your time. Thanks Carlos." He extended his hand.

Carlos shook it. "Lucia will see you out."

Jess nodded and shook Carlos's hand.

Lucia got up and walked the pair to the door. She retrieved their bags and jackets. As she handed Jess hers she pulled it towards her, forcing the brunette closer. "Stay away from my man," she hissed in Spanish. Lucia relinquished her hold on the jacket and smiled at Richard and Jess. "Nice to meet you both."

Richard nodded. "You, too"

Jess said nothing. She was in shock. _What had just happened?_

As the pair walked to the subway Jess told Richard what Lucia had said.

"She's probably just worried because he liked your performance. Carlos is too old for you."

"How old do you think Lucia is?"

Richard shrugged. "I don't know. Twenty, maybe?"

Jess stopped walking. "Don't you think he's a little old for her?"

"O'Malley, she's just jealous. Don't worry about it." Richard took her hand and they continued to walk to the subway.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: Lost in Translation**

**Manhattan's SVU Squad room**

**Wednesday, May 11****th****, 18:06**

Jess climbed the stairs to the squad room. Two men she didn't know walked by her as she walked in. Fin and Munch were right behind them.

"Hey, Jess," Munch said and smiled at her.

"Hey, Kid. Sorry, we're on our way out," Fin smiled as he stopped for a second.

"Oh, no worries. Be safe. I'll catch you two on the flip side." She nodded goodbye as they passed each other.

She wandered into the bullpen and found Elliot alone at his desk. "What's up old man?" she sat at her own desk and set her bag on it.

The detective smiled as he looked up from his paperwork. "Not much. Whadda doing here?"

"What? I need a reason for coming here now?" she smirked.

He eased back in his chair as their dance began. "Well, I'm just saying…isn't there somewhere else you could be?"

Jess put her feet up on her desk and leaned back in her chair. "I need to study. This place is looking pretty empty. It's clear you're not doing much so it should be pretty quiet."

Elliot laced his fingers behind his head. "You have an answer for everything, don't you?"

Her grin widened. "Pretty much. Where's Livie?"

"Bathroom. Listen, we need a time-out from our game for a sec."

Jess's expression changed given the tone Elliot used. "Okay, what's up?"

He cleared his throat. "What I did yesterday. Leaving you alone with a Vic, was wrong. I shouldn't have done it and I won't do it again."

"She told you to say that because of what happened when Liam had to leave didn't she?" Jess said softly.

Elliot shook his head. "No. Liv didn't ask me to say anything to you. I'm saying this to you because it needs to be said." He narrowed his eyes. "I forget sometimes that you're not one of us. You're here so much that I forget you're not trained." Elliot's face softened. "You're sixteen years old. I shouldn't have laid the responsibility of a victim on you."

The teen opened her mouth to say something but he held up his hand. "I know you can handle it. You did a great job yesterday. It isn't about _you_, it's about what's right. Jessie, I would never let my kids hang out here. I almost never talk about my cases or what I see on the job with them; hell I hardly ever talk about it with Kathy. I made a decision a long time ago that I didn't want them to be exposed to what happens here."

"You think Livie's made a bad decision by letting me be here?" Jess narrowed her eyes.

"No, not at all. Honestly, I'm not sure how much of a choice you gave her. For the most part, Kid, you do what you want and Liv and Alex are along for the ride. You're responsible and have proven that you can handle yourself in and outside of this squad room." He sighed and ran his hand over his mouth. "That doesn't mean that you should be in this room as much as you are. I understand you want to be here. I get that you feel safe here."

Jess shifted in her chair at the blatant acknowledgment of why she liked to spend time in the squad room.

The detective continued. "I just think maybe you should take a break."

"Okay," she said quietly and stood.

"Whoa, whoa…wait a minute. You don't have to go now. Jess, look at me."

Her eyes met his.

"How did you feel yesterday when Sharon Wilkinson took Liam away?"

"What the hell kind of a question is that?" Jess narrowed her eyes at him.

"Answer it." He said in an even tone.

Olivia opened her mouth to stop the conversation she had been eavesdropping on from around the corner but stopped herself.

"Shitty…helpless, scared…sad," she said softly.

"Every day," he said. "That's how we feel every day." He leaned forward and took her hand as he looked up at her. "I don't want that for you. None of us do. The more time you spend here the faster that is going to happen to you."

"It's not always like that. I'm not involved in your cases…"

"You don't have to be to have it affect you. Jessie, you hear us run our cases. Olivia is a detective and Alex is an attorney, that's already too involved and you haven't even left your home." He sighed. "I'm not saying don't come here anymore. Everyone loves when you are here. I just…we just want to keep you whole."

Jess squeezed his hand and then hugged him. "I love you, El."

He hugged her back. "I love you, too, Kid."

Olivia wiped a tear that had fallen and walked into the bullpen. "Hey, Jess."

"Mama," she said with a smile. Jess let go of Elliot and went to Olivia. They hugged. Olivia looked at her partner over Jess's head. She smiled at him and winked.

**Residence of A.D.A. Cabot, Detective Benson and Jess O'Malley**

**Wednesday, May 11****th****, 23:11**

Olivia snuggled into Alex's side. The blonde giggled and shifted under the covers of the bed. The detective started to run her fingers over Alex's stomach making her start to laugh. The A.D.A. shifted away and started to tickle her girlfriend back.

"Hahahahaha…you really wanna start this?" Olivia said through her laughter.

"Hahahaha…I think you're the one that started this. I plan on ending it." Alex said as she pushed herself on top of Olivia. The blonde straddled her girlfriend and the tickle fight stopped. Alex took her detective's hands in hers and placed them on her own thighs. Olivia ran her hands up and down the alabaster skin. Their eyes locked and they grinned slightly at one another. Olivia's hands wandered up long thighs to slender hips. She pulled Alex forward but the blonde remained upright. Olivia's hands continued up her girlfriend's body, under the thin ribbed tank top, over a tiny belly and up to beautiful pink nipples. She rolled them between her thumb and index finger. Alex finally let go and exhaled sharply at the sensation. She leaned down and kissed Olivia very softly. The brunette returned the kiss just as gently. She pulled the tank top off Alex and the A.D.A. sat straight up again. Olivia lowered her hands down the warm body. The blonde was straddling Olivia's stomach now so the detective brought her knees up, forcing Alex to stay where she was. She lowered her hands further and pushed through the tiny patch of hair that hid her girlfriend's sex. Olivia brushed against her clit very lightly. Although their eyes grew darker neither one quickened the pace. They wanted to take their time; they wanted to savour each other.

Olivia pushed harder against her girlfriend's clit. She started to make tiny circles with the thumb. Alex took Olivia's free hand in hers and placed it on her backside. They grinned slyly at each other. The brunette pushed a finger inside Alex's sex. She finally gave in as her head fell back and her eyes closed. "Uhhhhhh…"

It was the noise Olivia had been waiting to hear. Her grin became wider as she slipped a second finger inside her girlfriend.

"Uhhhh….uhhhh….uhhhh…" Alex moaned as Olivia pushed her fingers in and out of her slowly. It wasn't slow enough to aggravate her…yet. It was just fast enough and deep enough to be sensual.

The detective held Alex's backside and started to pull it towards her to create a slow rhythm. Alex caught on and the rhythm slowly became faster.

"More…I…want…more…" Alex panted. She was on the verge of setting the pace faster when Olivia grabbed one of her cheeks and pulled it towards her.

"Yeeeeessss." Alex exhaled. She fell forward, placing her hands on either side of Olivia's head for leverage. The blonde spread her legs wider across Olivia's toned stomach. The detective slipped a third finger inside her girlfriend's sex.

"Uhhh…yes, yes…" Alex began to set a faster pace against the fingers.

"Come for me, Al."

Alex pushed harder against Olivia's fingers. "Uhhh…uhhhh…I want…toooo…"

Olivia pulled on Alex's backside again, forcing her thighs further apart and making it easier to push down on her fingers. It also stretched the tiny hole Olivia knew would drive her girlfriend crazy.

"Ahhhhhhh….yesssss…." Alex hissed into Olivia's neck and she braced herself for what was building all too quickly.

The detective curled her fingers more and forced them harder in and out of Alex. She pulled on her girlfriend's backside harder stretching the tiny hole further.

"Ahhhhhh….ahhhhh….yessss…."

"Come for me, Al. Baby, please…."

"Ah, ah, ah….ahhhhhh…." Alex whimpered as she let go. Her orgasm took over. Olivia continued her push inside her and hold her backside in place. Alex struggled against her lover as she rode out her orgasm. Olivia slowed the pace and the blonde collapsed on top of her. Unable to move, she breathed heavily. After about a minute she shamelessly ran her sex across Olivia's toned stomach multiple times. The detective grinned and ran her hands up and down Alex's back; she settled on the cute backside and grabbed both cheeks. Alex held her breath.

"You want it…don't you?"

"Uhhhh-hunnnn." Alex moaned.

Olivia pulled the cheeks apart and Alex pushed her abdomen down hard against Olivia's stomach.

"Ohhhhh….yeeeaahhhh…"

The detective pushed her lover down harder against her stomach and pulled the cheeks in her hand farther apart. Alex rocked her abdomen against Olivia.

"Uhhh….uhhh…uhhh…harder. Stretch…me…out…" Alex panted.

Olivia grinned as she pulled Alex cheeks farther apart. She loved that she had found Alex's little secret.

"Yeeesss…..uhhhhh…yeahhhh…."

Alex came again. This time on Olivia's stomach. She rolled off her girlfriend and onto the bed beside her. "I'm sorryyy…" she breathed heavily as she caught Olivia's eyes.

The detective was up on one elbow grinning at her. "Why?" she giggled.

"Because…" Alex sighed. "I totally just went to town…on you…"

Olivia threw her head back and laughed. She looked down at Alex. "I love that you did that. Don't ever apologize for that." She ran a finger over Alex's flushed face and kissed her. "I love you."

Alex kissed her back. "I love you, too." The A.D.A. kissed her detective again. She rolled over and pushed Olivia onto her back. Alex left kisses down the brunette's neck, between her breasts, down her stomach and abdomen. She ended just before the tiny patch of hair that hid Olivia's sex. The blonde took her fingers and opened the detective's clit. She licked at her girlfriend.

"Hhhhhhhaaaaaa…" Olivia exhaled as the sensation washed over her.

The A.D.A. flattened her tongue and licked several more times. Each stroke garnered the same response. Alex licked around Olivia's sex and the detective squirmed. The blonde pushed her tongue inside her lover.

"Mmmmmm…" Olivia moaned as she bucked her hips.

Alex giggled slightly and continued to lick and suck at her girlfriend.

"Mooooorrrreee…"

Alex licked Olivia's center as she pushed a finger inside her. She pushed it in and out.

"Moooorrrreee…"

Alex grinned. She stopped licking and pushed three fingers inside Olivia's dripping wet sex. She pushed her shoulders against the detective's thighs making them spread further apart and forcing her feet off the bed. Alex turned her fingers horizontally inside Olivia.

"Yeeeesssss…."

The blonde grinned as she watched Olivia's face. Alex spread her fingers apart and wiggled the finger in the middle. The detective's face became flush as she breathed heavily.

"Uhhhhh….uhhhh…uhhh…yeeeeesssss…"

Alex smiled as she saw the pleasure etched on her girlfriend's face. She pushed her fingers inside Olivia further and wiggled the finger a little faster.

"Uhhhhh…rrrriiight….thherrrrree…" Olivia panted as Alex quickened the pace.

The A.D.A. pushed against Olivia's thighs with her shoulders and raised her backside off the bed.

"Harrrddder…" Olivia moaned.

Alex pushed her fingers in as far as she could and wiggled her finger faster.

"Mmmmmm…uhhhhhh…yeeeesss….fuck me…" Olivia grabbed the bed sheets in her fists.

"Let go, Baby…"

"Uhhhhh….uhhhh….ooooohhhhh…." Olivia did let go. She came hard. Alex continued to wiggle her finger as the contractions came. She slowed down and let Olivia pushed her out. She gently lowered her girlfriend back onto the bed and lay beside her.

The detective turned and cuddled up to the A.D.A. "You're amazing."

Alex smiled. "I love that you gave me the chance to prove how much I love you. Thank you for letting me into your life and heart."

Olivia hugged her lover closer. "I don't want you to be anywhere else."

**Island**

**Meatpacking District**

**Thursday, May 12****th****, 16:43**

Juan stepped into his boss's private office and was motioned to sit in one of the chairs in front of it.

"I need you to oversee the shipment on Saturday night. Here are the details." Carlos handed Juan some papers.

He looked at them and then at his boss. "I will be at Mojito to receive the shipment. With all due respect," Juan sat forward slightly. "I thought you would want to handle the shipments personally now that you are back."

Carlos inhaled the cigar he was smoking. "Normally I will, I have a more pressing issue to attend to on Saturday night."

The glint in Carlos's eyes said it all. He only got that look when a new girl was involved. "Our free rides are coming to Island on Saturday."

"Yes." Carlos nodded. "I have also convinced Jessica to sing at Mojtio a few nights a week. I want to keep this one close."

"And the boy?"

"He follows her. I may have suggested he was her manager and was welcome at Mojtio when she sang.

"If you have them coming to Mojtio and the club why do you need to see them on Saturday?"

"See, Juan you still need to learn." Carlos gestured. "It's all about appearance and giving someone the things they think they want. Jessica wants a place to sing, I could tell the first time I spoke to her. Richard wants the girl and they both want a place to dance." He spread his arms out. "I have given them both what they want." He dropped his arms to the desk. "Now, I have to keep up that appearance for a little while and then cash in on it."

Juan nodded. "You can be very persuasive."

**Outside a bodega on 9****th ****Avenue **

**Thursday, May 12****th****, 20:21**

Alex watched Olivia and Jess walk into the bodega. She pulled out her cell phone and tried to check her email. One of her cases was about to go to trial and her assistant was supposed to scan and send her important documents pertaining to the case. She looked down and read the message, 'No Service.' _Seriously? I'm in the middle of Manhattan_. Alex sighed and got out of her SUV that was parked at the curb outside the bodega. She walked around the back of it looking at the bars that represented how much reception the phone was receiving. About three feet from the BMW she had full bars. The A.D.A. checked her email. The documents were there.

"Miren esto chicas. Una gringa rica en nuestra esquina" Lucia said.

(Look at this, girls. A rich white lady on our corner.)

The women stared at Alex.

"What do we do with rich women in our way?" Lucia asked as she moved closer to Alex.

"Asegurense de que no se cruzen en nuestro camino." One of the other women said.

(Make sure they never get in our way again.)

Alex looked up. "I was just leaving. Have a nice night." She turned to go back to the BMW. Lucia grabbed her arm and spun her around.

"Not so fast, bitch." Lucia grabbed the car keys out of Alex's hand. "I believe this belongs to us now."

Jess had a slushy in her hand as she turned from the machine she glanced outside. She saw Alex behind the BMW. She sucked on the straw and drank some of the Blue Raspberry slush. She saw her Mama look up. Jess moved closer to the window to see what had caught the blonde's attention. Only then did she see Lucia. She dropped the drink in her hand and ran out of the bodega. She marched up to the dark-haired woman. "Que esta pasando aqui?" She asked.

(What's going on here?)

Lucia looked momentarily stunned. _How is it possible that everywhere she looked now this tiny rich bitch was always somehow in her business?_ "No tem etas en esto." Lucia answered.

(Stay out of this.)

Jess narrowed her eyes. "Devuelvele las llaves."

(Give her back the keys.)

"Te voy a dar una ultima oportunidad. Alejate, esto no tiene nada que ver contigo."

(I'm giving you one last chance. Walk away from this. It has nothing to do with you.)

Tiene todo que ver conmigo. Ella es mi mama."

(It has everything to do with me. That's my mom.)

Lucia laughed. "Mas razon para que te alejes niñita."

(All the more reason for you to walk away, little girl.)

A sick smile played across Jess's lips. "No te vas a salir con la tuya. Dame las llaves o te vas arrepentir."

(You're not getting away with this. Give me the keys or you'll be sorry.)

The laughing stopped.

Alex didn't speak Spanish. It seemed as if Jess knew this stranger. The young woman might be a year or two older than Jess and was with a group of five teenager girls that looked younger than Jess. "Enough." Alex said. "Give me back my keys and I won't call the police."

"It's too late for that now, Upper West Side." One of the girls said.

The sick smile remained. "Se que quieres pegarme asi que vamos!."

(Come on, hit me. I know you want too.)

Jess said in Spanish. She had no idea what Lucia's problem was. She had messed with the wrong people tonight and there was no way Jess was going to let her get away with it. She played the only card she had and spoke in Spanish. "Ya estoy en tu vida. Te voy a quitar a Carlos."

(I'm in your life now. I'm gonna take Carlos from you.)

With that threat Lucia lost it and landed a right hook to Jess's cheek, just below her eye. That's all the brunette needed. She swung a left then a right and made contact with Lucia's face with both.

Olivia looked around the store for her daughter. She didn't see her anywhere. She walked to the slushy machine and saw the cup on the floor. The detective looked around wildly and her eyes landed outside as she watched Jess take two swings at a young woman. Olivia dropped everything in her arms and ran outside.

Lucia lost her balance and fell to her knees; dropping the keys. Jess scooped up the keys and grabbed her shoulders and pushed her onto her back. She held her hand to the other woman's throat. "Considera Carlos mio. Si te metes conmigo o con mi familia, te mato," Jess seethed.

(Consider Carlos mine. He wants me now. You come after me or my family and I will kill you.)

Alex tried desperately to move Jess off the other woman but wasn't strong enough. Olivia grabbed Jess's shirt and ripped the teen off the other one in time to hear the last part of Jess's sentence. "What is wrong with you? Why would you say that?"

Jess lost her balance and fell back onto her backside. She stood, as did Lucia. "She was trying to steal Al's car."

"Cuando Carlos sepa que me golpeaste, no va a querer nada contigo." Lucia screamed as she pointed to Jess.

(Wait until Carlos hears that you hit me. He'll never want you.)

"At least I don't flatback for him, you cunt." Jess pointed to Lucia and yelled.

The group backed away and Olivia grabbed her daughter's arm. "Stop it! Don't you ever talk like that."

"Ahi nos vemos zorrita." Lucia taunted as she turned and the group left.

(See you later, little bitch.)

Jess shook herself free of Olivia's grip and shouted back at Lucia. "Cuenta con eso puta."

(Count on it, cunt.)

Olivia grabbed her arm again and spun Jess around to face her.

"I told you to shut your mouth. Get in the car." Olivia seethed through clenched teeth.

"Let go of me."

"What is wrong with you?" Olivia narrowed her eyes.

"Let go of me. You're hurting me." Jess twisted in her Mama's grip.

The detective relinquished her stranglehold on the teen's arm. Jess gave the keys to Alex and got in the backseat of the BMW. Alex looked at Olivia. "What the hell just happened here?"

"I have no idea. We are getting the whole story out of her tonight."

**Residence of A.D.A. Cabot, Detective Benson and Jess O'Malley**

**310 Central Park West **

**Thursday May 12****th****, 20:54**

"How do you know that girl?" Olivia asked as she stood in front of Jess in the kitchen.

"From school." The teen lied.

"What did you say to her?" Alex asked. Having not understood a word the two had said.

Jess sat in a chair, spoke in a monotone and had no expression on her face. "I told her to give you back the keys."

Alex crossed her arms. "And…"

"She refused. I told her you were my Mama and to give you back the keys. She refused. I told her if she didn't she'd be sorry. She took a swing at me and I hit her back."

"Who's Carlos; and stop acting this way." Olivia shook her head.

"He's a guy at school."

The detective put her palms on the kitchen table and looked across it at her daughter. "I'm not going to ask again."

"Would you take it easy…"

"Take it easy? Did you really just say that?" Olivia's jaw dropped slightly.

Jess gestured. "I'm not a hump. Quit acting like I'm in Interview One."

"You just insinuated that a girl flatbacks for a guy named Carlos." Olivia lifted one of her palms and point to Jess. "Tell me who he is."

"I told you, he's a guy at school."

Alex needed to defuse the situation. It really was looking like Interview One in the kitchen. "What is flatbacking?"

Olivia's eyes widened at her daughter. She spoke to her in Spanish so the kid understood the detective had understood everything she had said on the street. "Anda, dile. Parese que tu sabes mas que todos en esto."

(Go ahead. Tell her. You seem to know way more about this situation than anyone else.)

Jess sighed. "It's a dirty term for having sex for money."

"It's a _filthy_ word. And so is cunt." Olivia seethed. "Don't you ever use either of those words again, in_ any_ language. Do you understand me?"

"Yes."

"Does she really do that for this Carlos?" Alex asked.

"No. I just wanted to hurt her."

"Well, you managed to give her two black eyes." Olivia straightened up.

"I didn't mean to do that. She hit me first."

"You antagonized her into it. I heard you say Carlos's name twice." Alex pursed her lips. It was the only part of the conversation between the girls she had understood.

Olivia's jaw dropped. "Is that true?"

Jess nodded. "I had to get her to swing first. It was self-defense."

"You're not even sorry, are you?" Olivia asked.

"I think you're forgetting she was gonna carjack Ally. I was defending my family. I just happened to know her. I would have done the same thing if it had been a total stranger." Jess stood up so fast the chair she was sitting in hit the wall behind it.

"You can't go around hitting people!" Olivia said.

"Are you kidding me? I was defending an innocent woman." Jess gestured.

"You assaulted a woman tonight. Don't forget that. If she files charges you won't be allowed to work in Computer Crimes. If you're convicted you'll never get into college." Alex said in a soft tone.

Jess closed her eyes and sighed. She opened them and looked at Alex. "You're right." She looked between both women. "I got carried away tonight. I'm sorry. I just saw Ally in trouble and lost sight of everything else."

"I understand, Jessie. It was beautiful that you defended me. You have to understand that my BMW can be replaced. You and your future can't."

The teen nodded.

"You scared the hell outta me, Kid. I've never seen you act like that or speak like that." Olivia said with tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry." Jess went to her and hugged the detective.

"I'm sorry I grabbed you so hard."

"It's okay. My eye feels like it's gonna explode. Can I get some ice for it?"

"Of course." Olivia said and pushed the teen away slightly so she could see her face. Jess's eye was already starting to go dark around the bottom.

"I'll get you some." Alex said heading to the fridge.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six: Understanding**

**Residence of A.D.A. Cabot, Detective Benson and Jess O'Malley**

**310 Central Park West **

**Friday, May 13****th****, 22:10**

Jess put down her book and stood up. She had told Richard she didn't want to go out that night. She had also finally heard back from Casey. The reporter had spoken with Dillon and met her for dinner earlier that night.

"Well, how did it go?" Jess had asked as they sat in Tony's diner eating dinner.

"Not as bad as I thought it would." The reporter had said as she sucked on the straw to her milkshake.

"Are you gonna elaborate? Or is this none of my business?"

Casey grinned. "It's your business. Calm down. I had him up to my place, made him dinner and told him afterwards. All of it."

"The sting, the fact that you were bait, the attack…"

"All of it. Once I got started I couldn't stop. It was really weird. When I finally did stop I realized I had just sort of blurted it all out and couldn't believe he was still sitting there."

Jess swallowed a mouthfull of Coke. "I didn't think he would run out on you or make you feel bad or strange. D is really understanding guy."

"You have no idea. He actually asked me if he could get me some water once I had finished my verbal diarrhea."

Jess giggled. "Not surprised."

"I was. He got me some water and then thanked me for being honest with him. He said it must have been really hard and he liked that I trusted him enough to share everything with him."

"And…" Jess said edging towards what happened next.

"And…he didn't run away. We spend the next three hours talking about our lives. It was really nice because I didn't feel like it was all about me and the attack. We talked about our childhoods and families."

A full-on smile graced Jess's lips. "You have a boyfriend."

Casey's cheeks went pink as she grinned. "I have a boyfriend."

Their dinner had been great. Jess was happy that Casey was happy. The teen had come home afterward. She needed to study and also wanted a night in. She knew Alex was going to be around. She walked to the doorway of Alex's homeoffice and leaned against the doorframe.

Sensing her daughter's presence the A.D.A. looked over her glasses at the doorway. "You can come in, you know." She gestured to an oversized chair opposite her in the room.

The kid sat down. She placed her feet on the seat of the chair, forcing her knees up. "What are you doing?"

Alex set the pen she was holding down. "Working on my strategy for a case. What are you doing?"

"Studying." Jess looked away as she spoke. "How many cases do you handle at one time?"

"It varies. Usually, I try not to take on more than three. They are normally all at different stages of prosecutions so I don't end up in court on more than one at a time."

"Can I ask you something else?"

"Sure."

"How do you do it?"

The blonde didn't like that Jess was avoiding her eyes. "Do what, Kid?"

Hearing her nickname snapped Jess back and made her look at Alex. "How do you juggle being an A.D.A. in three cases, going down to the squad room and sorting out the viability of a case, coming home and being a wife to Livie and a mama to me?"

"Wow…how long have you been saving that one up for?" Alex asked with concern etched on her face.

Jess rested her arms over her knees but gestured with her hands. "A while."

"How one juggles their life is something that is personal to them."

"Wow…could you be _any_ less helpful?" Jess asked with a raised brow.

Alex pursed her lips. "Sorry. Look, the truth is, I don't think I juggle my life very well. I never feel like I'm with you or Liv enough. I tend to put my work first a lot and I'm not sure when I look back on my life I'm going to be proud of that."

Jess grinned at her. "You do just fine by me. I mean, sure I miss you when I don't see you but we lead really busy lives."

"Truuue. What's this really about, Jessie?" Alex leaned back in her chair.

The teen crossed her legs under herself and sat up slightly. "I just feel like there is too much going on in my life. I can't handle all of it at once. Between school, therapy, work, the band, Richard and being here with you and Livie. I feel like I'm everywhere and nowhere all at the same time."

"You should cut out Computer Crimes," Alex said softly.

"Out of all the things I just listed why did you chose that as the thing to cut out?"

"If I answer that you have to let me finish and actually _think_ about what I've said."

Jess nodded.

"You are sixteen years old. You are finishing up your junior year. You have a boyfriend, a band, two quasi mothers and therapy that you should continue with. Come September, you will be a senior. You only get to do that once. After that, you graduate, enroll at NYU for computer sciences, grow up and never have the chance to go back and be a kid."

"A little on the extreme side, don't you think?" Jess grinned.

Alex raised her brow. "You agreed to let me finish."

The teen nodded for her to continue.

"Maybe to you it seems extreme. The truth is, Kid, it happens in the blink of an eye. If you're lucky, I mean truly lucky, you look back at it all, at thirty-seven years old, and smile. I want that for you. Liv wants that for you. I know you love Computer Crimes but it will always be there. The boyfriend, band, therapy and the people you love might not always be. The one thing I can guarantee is that your senior year won't be. Stop working and go to school, be a kid. Smile, Jessie."

Jess giggled. "You been talkin' to El, haven't you?"

"No, actually I came up with all that on my own. Why? What did your old man say to you?"

She shrugged. "Nothin.'" She lied. "How much longer do you have to work on that?"

Seeing the look on her daughter's face made her lie. "I don't need to work on this anymore, tonight." _Not a complete lie_.

Jess stood up, walked over to the A.D.A. and took her hand. When the teen pulled Alex followed her all the way to her bedroom. When she pulled Alex onto the bed the blonde started to laugh. "Okay, okay…I get it. You can let go."

She obliged, crawled across the bed and picked up a book off the bedside table. Alex turned on the lamp on the side of the bed she was laying on as she crawled under the covers. Jess shimmied under them as well and cuddled up to her. She handed Alex the book. The A.D.A. took it and smiled. "I've missed you." She hugged Jess tighter.

The tiny brunette nuzzled Alex's stomach as she hugged her across her body. "I miss you, too."

Alex stroked Jess's hair. "What did Elliot say to you?"

"Will you read to me?"

"After you tell me what Elliot said to you."

Jess closed her eyes as she spoke. "He said he wanted me to stay out of the bullpen."

"Did he happen to say why?" Alex asked as she set the book on her chest and pulled her cell phone out of the pocket of her sweatpants.

"Said he wanted to keep me whole."

Alex set the phone on the bedside table and took the book off her chest with one hand as she stroked Jess's hair with the other. "What does that mean?"

"He thinks that the stuff I see and hear in the squad room makes me hard…you know like less innocent." Jess was starting to drift to off to sleep. "He thinks I should spend less time in the squad and more time being a kid."

The A.D.A. could tell Jess was in that state between sleep and awake. She continued to stroke her hair. "I think your old man is right."

"Mmmmm…"

"Want me to read to you?"

"Uhh-huh." Jess whispered.

Alex smiled and opened the book with one hand. She stared to read. After three pages she knew Jess was sound asleep. She put the book down, grabbed her cell and texted her girlfriend a message.

**Around the corner from Island**

**Meatpacking District**

**Friday, May 13****th****, 22:45**

Elliot watched Morales type furiously on the keyboard of the laptop in the back of the TARU van. "Can you do it?"

Morales stopped and looked at him. "The firewall appears to be impenetrable. I will keep trying but I can't guarantee anything. If you want my honest opinion I would like to bring Jess in on this."

"No," Elliot shook his head. "Jess is taking a break from high-profile cases."

Detective Craig Luck looked from Stabler to the tech. Morales and Stabler were looking at Benson. Luck addressed her, since all eyes seemed to be on her. "Who's Jess and why isn't she here tying to hack into Island's security system?"

Olivia looked at Morales but answered Detective Luck. "Jess is my daughter. She's sixteen, works _low_-profile cases in Computer Crimes with Morales and is at home studying for her finals next week."

Morales nodded, understanding that the answer was more for his benefit than anyone else.

"You have a kid?" Luck asked totally shocked.

Benson turned to him. "Uh yeah…you actually walked by her the other day in the squad room. You guys were leaving and she was coming in to see me. Short, brunette…"

"Oh yeah, the kid with the laptop bag; she's yours?"

Olivia nodded. "Yup, she's all mine." Her cell vibrated and she looked at the screen. "I need a minute." She shuffled as best she could, given the dress she was wearing, to the front of the van and sat in the passenger seat.

Detective Luck looked at Stabler. From the way Elliot had spoken to the tech earlier about Olivia's daughter he could tell the partners were very close. He could also tell Stabler wasn't happy about Olivia partnering up with him inside the club or the fact that he had to stay behind in the van. Craig Luck cleared his throat. "Listen, Stabler I'm gonna have her back in the club. I won't let anything happen to her."

Stabler looked at him. "Liv's been my partner for over fourteen years. She the best partner I've ever had. She can take care of herself but I appreciate you keeping an eye on her."

Olivia typed back a response to the text. "Call me." Twenty seconds later her cell vibrated. She answered it. "Good evening."

"Wow…that's a dark tone…I kindda like it." Alex smiled.

"I was going for dark and mysterious." Olivia mused.

"You nailed it."

"Was sort of thinking of nailing something else…or someone else," Olivia looked out the windshield as she enjoyed her stolen moment with Alex.

"It's the dress, isn't it? It's got you all hot and bothered."

"It's the dress, heels, the fact that I shaved…"

Alex started to laugh.

"I miss you, Counselor."

"I miss you, too, Detective."

"Al, I'd love to chat but I'm sort of on the clock here."

"I know, I'm sorry. I'm lying here with our daughter and I just wanted to say goodnight to you from both of us."

"Awww…that's sweet of you. Can I talk to the Kid?"

"She's sleeping."

Olivia furrowed her brow. "Isn't it a little early?"

Alex heard the shift in Olivia's tone. She didn't want to worry the detective knowing she was on the job. "She's been cramming all week for her exams next week. I read to her and she's fallen asleep beside me."

Although Olivia didn't believe Alex was telling her the whole truth she let it go. "Kiss her for me. I'll come in to see you both when I get home."

"I will. Can't wait until you get home, I love you." Alex said knowing her girlfriend wasn't totally buying that Jess's studying was the reason she was sleeping.

"I love you, too." Olivia disconnected and shuffled towards the back of the van. "Well, what are we looking at?"

Morales turned to her. "I'm not going to be able to crack this anytime soon. I'll keep tying tonight but you're going to have to work under the assumption that we won't have eyes inside the club."

The detectives looked at each other. Olivia and Elliot's eyes landed on Luck's. "Normally, we would proceed with infiltration anyway. It's rare that we have enough time in Narcotics to set up such an intricate surveillance system."

"You said normally, as if this time is different. Is it?" Olivia asked.

Luck shook his head. "No, not necessarily." He cleared his throat. "Listen, Olivia, I know you've got a kid and under cover work usually isn't what you do. I understand if you want to stand down. I have a team of six, including me. We can make it work."

Elliot was about to say something but Olivia beat him to it. "I've been under cover plenty of times. I'm not standing down here. Let's re-group with the team and start this."

"Okay, let's go to the other van and we'll work out a plan B." Luck shuffled to the back of the van. Olivia followed, past Morales and Stabler. As Luck helped her out of the van Elliot looked at her. "Hey."

She turned and looked at him.

He grinned. "Come back with all your fingers and toes."

Olivia had noticed that over the course of the last few months she and Elliot had incorporated some of Jess's slang or most used phrases into their own repertoire. She grinned. "I was born at night but not last night."

Detectives Luck and Benson walked to the other van and met with the other members of the team that was going to set up the sting on Carlos Ramirez and his thugs in Island. True to his word Craig Luck went in with Olivia as his date and stuck very close to her. The team was wired and sent their signals to each other and to the TARU van parked around the corner. Elliot spoke to the team about an hour after they had entered the club. "How can people listen to this Techno crap? I've been listening to it for an hour and all I wanna do is take an aspirin."

The team members smirked but only Olivia answered. "It's not Techno, it's House and Jess would be irate if she heard you call it Techno."

Morales, who was still trying to gain access to Island's security, gave him a sideways look. "Olivia's right."

Elliot shook his head. About four hours later the team left Island with pretty much what they walked in there with…nothing but a hunch. Luck, being the lead on the case told everyone to go home. They would meet around 13:00 in the SVU squad room and work out a new strategy.

Further uptown Fin and Munch had a much more successful outcome with their sting. Having been given a card for Mojito by Luck and Martin's CI the night before Fin was able to enter the piano bar on Friday night. He went in without a wire, against Munch's better judgment. Mojito was much different that Island. There were no security cameras and the atmosphere was much darker.

Fin produced the card to the front door man. He was waved inside to another man. Two bigger men appeared out of nowhere and searched the detective. They took his wallet and ran his name in a laptop that was sitting on a desk just inside the door. Once they cleared him he was asked if there was anything that could be gotten for him. Nice to see the identification TARU set him up with was solid.

"Naw, I was hopin' I could check out the scenery first."

The man nodded. "If there is anything you like or want please do not hesitate to ask."

He walked into to bar and immediately recognized the pianist, it was the CI he'd gotten the card from. Fin took his time as he walked through the bar. He looked at all the women, if you could even call them that. The ones that looked the oldest couldn't be more than 16. _This guy was definitely running minors_. After about thirty minutes a young woman, wearing far too much eye make-up came up to him and smiled, "You like anything you see?"

Although he detected a Spanish accent she spoke perfect English. "I see a lot of things I like."

"Mr. Ramirez would like you to join him for a drink. My name is Lucia and I will escort you to his table."

She couldn't have been more than eighteen and that eye make-up was desperately trying to hide two black eyes. Fin had seen it many times with battered women . He hadn't seen her when he came in but she was the oldest looking female in the bar. "I'd be honored to have a drink with Mr. Ramirez."

Lucia showed him to Carlos's regular table. She introduced them and sat beside Carlos.

"Mr. Lawrence, it's nice to meet you. Are you enjoying Mojito?"

Fin sat back in the chair. "Yes, I am. Thank you. Please, Mr. Ramirez, call me Ty."

Carlos nodded. "Which one do you want?"

"That one." Fin nodded to Lucia.

Carlos smiled. "That one is mine." He sipped an amber liquid. "But she can be yours for a price."

"How much?"

"Not tonight. Tonight, Ty, is free. Have a good time and pick anything else. Next time we will discuss a price."

Fin sucked in his lips, as if thinking about what the man had said. "I hear that."

"Lucia will help you find what you want tonight." Carlos extended his hand.

The detective took it. "Thanks, Mr. Ramirez."

"Carlos, please, call me Carlos."

The young woman got up and showed Fin around. He picked a young woman and they disappeared down a hall. After they were in the room she started to strip. Fin held up his hands. "No, no…I just wanna talk."

"But…but…Mr. Ramirez…he wants us to…"

"I know. I know that he wants us to do. I don't want to do that. I'll say we did and you say the same. No one will ever know we just sat here and talked."

Skeptical, the young woman sat on the bed. The pair talked for 35 minutes and then Fin left.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven: Bittersweet Symphony **

**Residence of A.D.A. Cabot, Detective Benson and Jess O'Malley**

**310 Central Park West **

**Saturday May 14****th****, 03:09**

Olivia closed the door to the condo and silently walked into the bedroom she shared with her girlfriend. She wasn't shocked to see the bed was empty. The detective dropped her bag that held her badge, cell phone and service weapon. She striped out of the slinky dress and swapped it for a pair of sweats and an old t-shirt. She grabbed her cell out of the bag. Olivia left her bedroom and padded barefoot to her daughter's bedroom. She slipped under the covers on the other side of Jess.

**8:00**

The alarm on Alex's cell phone went off. She reached over and shut it off. She tried to move her daughter off her in order to get up. She couldn't move the kid. "Jessie"

No response.

"Jessie, I have to get up." Alex said as she gently shook the brunette.

"Noooooo," Jess breathed deeply.

"You don't have to get up, sweetheart. Just let me up." Alex pushed her harder this time and actually moved her.

"Nooooo." Jess wiggled closer to Alex and grabbed her shirt. "Don't leave."

Annoyed with the teen Alex started to lose her cool. "Seriously, Jess, enough. I don't have time today."

"Why do you always have to go?" Jess said angrily.

"Jessie, stop it." Olivia said.

Alex looked over for the first time and saw her lover. She smiled. "Morning."

"Morning." Olivia grinned as she propped herself up on her elbow.

"Can't you both stay here for a few minutes?" Jess whined.

"I stopped working last night to read to and hangout with you. Now I have to get back to it." Alex said. _Why was this such a production? I haven't even had a coffee yet_.

"Fine. Go." Jess said and turned 180 degrees to the other side. She curled up in the fetal position with her back to Alex.

Olivia met Alex's gaze. The blonde looked heartbroken. Olivia shook her head and mouthed. "It's okay."

Alex got out of bed and headed for the kitchen to make coffee before she settled into the den to work.

"What's up, Kid?" Olivia said softly as she pulled the covers off Jess's face.

The teen's eyes remained closed. "I just wanna sleep."

"So we've noticed. Why haven't you been getting up in the morning?"

"I want you or Allie to wake me up."

"Why?" Olivia prodded as she pushed the hair out of her daughter's face and tucked it behind her ear.

"I miss you. I wanna see you more."

The tone Jess was using was getting more childlike by the sentence.

"Is this about not being able to come to the squad room? That's temporary, you know that."

"No, it's not about that."

"Are we working too much? This case is coming to a head, Jess. Probably just a few more days, a week tops."

"It's not about that either."

Olivia cleared her throat but continued to speak softly. "Jessie, what is it about?"

Jess opened her eyes and looked up at Olivia. "It's our anniversary."

The detective's eyes widened. _How did I forget? How could I have let this slip through the cracks?_ "You're right, Jessie. We met one year ago."

"I love you, Mama." She said quietly. Jess wiggled closer to Olivia and found herself against the detective. She flung her arm over the taller woman.

Olivia hugged her daughter. She kissed the top of her head. "I love you, too. You're my daughter and I will never let you go." The detective rolled onto her back. Jess followed; her head beside her Mama and her arm over Olivia's stomach. "I'll stay home today. I don't want to go to work. I wanna lay right here with you."

Jess closed her eyes and nuzzled Olivia's side. "Just this morning."

The detective giggled at the sensation. "What do you mean?" Olivia stroked Jess's hair.

"Stay here, with me, for a few hours. We'll do brunch and then you can go to work." The teen said in a sleepy tone.

"I'll stay all day. I want to be with you." Olivia said as she continued to play with her daughter's hair.

"Just sleep now." There was a pause. "Brunch later…"

"Jessie?"

"Mmmmm…"

"You are the best thing in my life."

A small grinned graced the teens lips as she slipped closer to sleep. "You saved me. You make me safe. Just…don't leave me."

"Never, Kid. I will never leave you." Olivia felt Jess fall asleep. Surprisingly, the detective herself fell asleep shortly after.

Olivia woke to the smell of coffee mixed with hazelnut. It was just over two hours from when Alex had left the room. The detective smiled and lazily opened her eyes. Bright blue eyes and a soft smile greeted her. "Good morning, Detective."

She took the mug that was being offered. "Good morning, Counselor."

Alex knelt beside the bed and whispered. "Did you get to the bottom of our daughter's strange behavior?"

Olivia sat up slowly. Jess didn't move and she could actually drink out of the mug now. She took a sip. "I believe I have solved this mystery."

"Do tell." Alex said as she sipped at her third coffee of the morning.

"What's the date today?" Olivia asked quietly.

"Uh, it's Saturday, May 14th. You know that." Alex whispered.

"Uh-uh…May 14th…ring any bells?" Olivia gave her lover a sideways look.

A full ten seconds went by. Alex's face drained of colour. "Oh my God. One year ago…"

"Shhhhhh…" Olivia's eyes narrowed.

"I forgot. How could I forget?" Alex looked at Jess.

"Between your case load and this unbelievable case with Narcotics we both miss this." Olivia's eyes were also on the tiny figure that lay half on her and half on the bed.

"That's why she wanted me to stay this morning…" Alex sighed.

"It's why she has ignored her alarm and forced one of us to wake her. I think she wanted us around but didn't know how to ask."

Tears formed in Alex's eyes. "She shouldn't have had to ask. We should have known."

"That's not true." Jess said in a tone that indicated she had been awake for some time. "I should have just asked. I should have been honest. I'm almost seventeen you two shouldn't have to coddle me."

"It isn't about coddling you. It's about being there for you. We're your parents and we should be helping you with this." Olivia said stroking Jess's hair with her free hand.

"I don't need your help. I'm not sad or angry or scared. I just want to know you're both around. Just wake me up in the morning. Or have brunch with me. Or read to me."

"So you want us around but not totally on your case about anything." Alex grinned.

Jess grinned and lifted her head. She looked at the tall blonde who she could tell was smiling. "Exactly." She looked at both women and the grin faded. "I don't need my hand held. I know I was almost raped by my father a year ago. I have thought about what happened a lot; talked about it a lot. I'm learning to cope with what happened to me. That doesn't mean I wanna dwell on it when today represents more than that. I met both of you exactly one year ago." She shrugged. "It's a bittersweet anniversary and I would rather focus on the sweet."

Olivia smiled softly at her. "Pretty healthy attitude."

The teen gestured. "It's a process, as Dr. Hendrix would say."

"I think you've done remarkable with the process." Alex smiled sweetly. "I am sorry about this morning."

Jess shook her head. "Don't be. You have work and you shouldn't feel guilty about having to get up and do it. I took you away from it last night. I'm old enough to realize it's a give and take situation. Can you join Livie and me for brunch?"

"I think I can spare an hour to help make bunch."

"Niiiiice. I love you, Mama. Thanks for reading to me last night."

The tears came back but Alex pushed them away. "Always. I will always read to you. I love you, Jessie."

Jess got out of bed and headed for the kitchen to start brunch. Alex took the mug out of Olivia's hand and set it on the bedside table. She straddled her detective and kissed her. The pair continued this until they heard dance/pop music emanating very loudly from the kitchen. Olivia giggled first. "I think that's our cue."

"Our daughter's subtle, I'll give her that." Alex grinned as she got off Olivia and helped her out of bed. The detective went to the bathroom while Alex joined Jess. When Olivia made it she was surprised to see her girlfriend and their daughter singing along with the song playing on the iPhone. It was Gotta Work by Amerie:

(_Sometimes it's gonna be days like this  
>Sometimes it's gonna be rain like this<br>Sometimes you're gonna feel pain like this  
>Sometimes you gotta work hard for it<em>

_Because when u feeling low  
>And u cant get no lower<br>That's when u know your close  
>Sometimes u gotta work hard for it<em>)

Olivia found herself leaning against the doorway of the kitchen watching with her arms crossed and a grin on her face. Jess had a beater in her hand and Alex had a large wooden spoon in hers; both being used as faux microphones. The pair continued to dance around the kitchen and sing but it was Jess that noticed Olivia first. She winked at her and nodded to Alex but kept singing. The detective came up behind her girlfriend and started to sing with her:

(_Woke up in the morning  
>It's another cloudy day<br>But that never mattered too much to me  
>'Cause it's still a new beginning<em>)

Although grinning like a kid on Christmas morning Alex continued to sing.

(_And I know I got it in me  
>Had my share of ups and downs<br>But now I know I can do anything_)

Jess and Alex locked eyes and stopped singing; Olivia missed this and continued. She had faltered slightly when she realized she had been the only one singing along. She smiled at her partner, though, and sang her heart out.

(_Some people think I'm aggressive  
>'Cause I know what I want<br>But that never mattered too much to me)_

She and Alex did a sort of routine across the kitchen floor. Olivia sang, the A.D.A. backed up as the detective walked towards her. Jess smiled; she liked watching them love each other in moments like this.

(_Show me some body with no goal  
>Show me some body with no control<br>'Cause life is for living  
>So go and get it<br>When times get rough remember_)

When the chorus broke again all three women sang

(_Sometimes it's gonna be days like this  
>Sometimes it's gonna be rain like this<br>Sometimes you're gonna feel pain like this  
>Sometimes you gotta work hard for it<em>)

This time Olivia and Jess stopped singing and Alex was left doing a solo; to her surprise.

(_Because when you feeling low  
>And u can't get no lower<br>That's when you know your close  
>Sometimes u gotta work hard for it<em>)

Alex and Olivia did the same routine as before only this time the A.D.A. backed the detective up as she sang. 

(_Ohh gotta get it  
>Hey hey hey<br>Sometimes the road may seem too far  
>You never really know for sure<br>If you're ever gonna make it  
>Sometimes the end may seem so far<br>You never really know for sure  
>If you got the strength to make it<br>But you gotta remember_

The trio sang together one last time:

(_Sometimes it's gonna be days like this  
>Sometimes it's gonna be rain like this<br>Sometimes you're gonna feel pain like this  
>Sometimes you gotta work hard for it)<em>

Olivia kissed Alex and bent her, backwards over the island. The blonde giggled as she was lovingly forced, on her back, onto the island. The pair kissed until Jess took the hose-type faucet from the sink, extended it as far as she could and ran water through it-partially drowning the women.

Over breakfast Jess asked her mama's something she had wanted to bring up for a few days. "Can I see Liam?"

The detective and A.D.A. choked on their breakfast. They knew this was coming, they just didn't think it would be so soon. Olivia looked at Jess. "We don't think it would be a good idea."

"_We_ or _you_?" Jess spat back.

"We." Alex narrowed her eyes at her daughter.

"Why?"

"You have a lot going on right now." Alex said carefully alluding to their conversation from the night before. "Don't you think adding something else would be a bad idea?"

"Liam isn't _something_. He's a scared little boy."

"Jessie, you can't help him." It was time for the detective to take a stand on this. Elliot had done it a few days earlier but now it was her turn.

"You don't know that!" Jess threw her fork onto her plate. "You saved me from foster care. I can't save him, cause _you _won't let me! That doesn't mean I can't help him!"

"What are you going to do? Hhhhmmmm. Are you gonna stay with him all day? Take him out to a park? Tuck him in at night?"

"Maybe…some of that anyway." She gestured. "Something is better than nothing!"

"He's not yours. He's not your responsibly. You need to forget about him." Olivia said angrily.

"Forget about him? What the hell is the matter with you?" Jess stood and leaned over the breakfast table. "Is that what you were gonna do with me? Hhhhmmm…forget about me? Leave me in that group home?"

"Jess…"Alex's tone warned that a line was being crossed.

The teen ignored her and placed her palms on the table. "Who convinced you to take me? Or did you just take pity on me."

"That's not what happened and you know it." Olivia spat as she stood and put the palms of her hands on the table.

The showdown was painful for Alex to watch. It also astounded her how much Jess looked and acted like Olivia.

"Really? You sure about that? My situation is no different than that little boy's."

"It's totally different. Forget about him. You are not allowed to see him." Olivia seethed. She wanted to scare Jess into never seeing a victim again. The detective had to be ruthless now in order to spare Jess the devastation of seeing what normally happens to victims. She was a kid with no training and no way to cope with what she was going to feel if she saw Liam again.

"It's exactly the same you selfish bitch!"

"Jessica that is enough!" Alex screamed as she stood.

Upon hearing her full name Jess stood up straight.

"Apologize, now!"

The teen cleared her throat and looked at Olivia. "I'm sorry." Tears filled her eyes. "I didn't mean it. I swear, I didn't."

Olivia nodded. "I know. I didn't mean to…to say a lot of that either." She sighed. "You can't see Liam because it's against policy. You can't see him because you shouldn't have seen him in the first place. You can't see him because you will not be able to handle it when you have to say goodbye to him."

Jess started to say something but Olivia put up her hand to allow herself to finish.

"Liam will also not be able to handle it when you have to leave. He will not understand and what happened in the squad room will happen again. It will happen over and over again. Please, don't do that to him and don't do it to yourself."

Tears fell down her cheeks. "I want him back. I want him to live with us."

"We can't take him." Alex said in an even tone. "You know that. You need to find it in yourself to let that go."

"You need to find it in yourself to let Liam go." Olivia said. "This is why you can't get involved in our cases. It's why Elliot made a mistake leaving you with a victim."

Jess wiped the tears off her cheeks. "Okay. I get it."

The women sat back down and finished brunch. Jess didn't care what they said. She was going to see Liam. She was going to make sure the little boy was safe.

**Manhattan's SVU Squad room**

**Saturday May 14****th****, 14:03**

Cragen walked into the meeting room where all of the detectives were gathered. The room fell silent as he walked in. "I need updates. The brass is up my ass about all the overtime coming from this squad."

Luck cleared his throat. "We have a plan."

The Captain looked at him. "Well, let's hear it."

The detective nodded. "We are going to have two teams of three in Island. Benson and I are going to run interference and Stabler is going to co-ordinate everything from the truck."

"What are the teams inside Island going to do?" Cragen asked.

"Team A is gonna split up and try and hustle drugs in the usual places. Team B is gonna try and get close to Ramirez and his people. It's Saturday night so they will probably be in the VIP section."

"So, we don't think there will be a takedown tonight?" Cragen inquired.

Luck shook his head. "Probably not. These things take time."

"Time is something we don't have. There is a lotta overtime from this team over the last few weeks. Now that it's on my plate it's up to me to explain and legitimize the expense," the Captain said.

Benson could see Luck was about to start something with Cragen. She stepped in before he could. "Cap, Luck and I could go with you and explain the situation to the brass."

He shook his head. "That won't be necessary. I'm going to take the file with me and make sure the Commissioner understands the importance of this taskforce. I'll see if that can't buy us at least a week."

Luck smiled. "Thank you, Captain."

He nodded and looked at Munch and Fin. "Where are we on the Mojito aspect of this case, since it is our primary interest?"

Munch spoke first. "We've spoken to the CI inside. He is trying to get more information but it's slow going."

"Light a fire under him. What else?"

Fin stood straighter. "I've been inside. Ramirez is definitely running girls in there. And they are girls. I tried to speak to one of them but she was too terrified to talk. Victim estimate at this point is roughly twenty females. Probably between the ages of 13 to 17. Most appear to be of Spanish descent."

"You think he's smuggling them in from Ecuador?" Elliot asked.

"Not sure." Munch said. "We're checking flight manifests from New York to Ecuador over the last few years. Private flights as well."

"We have most of Ramirez's flight activity over the last three years, that's as far we got in our investigation. I'll have someone courier that stuff over. We dismissed it because he never brought drugs back with him so we didn't think his travel activity was pertinent." Luck said.

Fin nodded. "Thanks. Do you have travel info on Lucia as well?"

Luck shook his head. "Yes, we do. She traveled back and forth a lot more but, again, there were never any drugs on board the vessel so we pitted that stuff."

"Ramirez and his girlfriend have the victims spooked." Munch said. "From what Fin said it's gonna be hard to get them to a point where they could testify against Ramirez, Lucia or Rios.

"What's the girlfriend's situation?" Cragen asked.

"Lucia is under his thumb. She's just a kid herself. He'll sell her to the highest bidder, though. Think he might be smacking her around. She was wearing an awful lot of make-up around her eyes. Next time I go I've been assured a deal could be reached to have her." Fin said in a disgusted tone.

"What are we looking at in terms of time?" Cragen asked.

Munch shook his head. "Hard to say. It looks like at the end of the night the victims are bussed to New Jersey, Weehawken to be exact. There is a warehouse the van went into and never came out of. "

"We need more time. I haven't even been able to get a wire inside the door yet." Fin said.

"Ramirez and Rios don't have any properties in New Jersey that we have come across in our investigation. Who owns the building?" Curtis asked.

Fin shrugged. "Not sure, we're running down the address now."

Cragen's eyes widened slightly. "This is gonna be a long lunch. Okay people, take your time and do this right."

They all nodded and he left the room. The detectives ran through their respective plans a few more times.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight: Nightlife**

**21:36**

Richard was dressed and raiding the fridge for food while his girlfriend got ready. In her room Jess had the radio on her laptop tuned to her favorite classic rock station. She had happened upon it, by chance, in the locker room at the station house. Apparently, it's the only station all four detectives could agree on. She looked in the mirror as she put on mascara.

(_On the day I was born, the nurses all gathered 'round  
>And they gazed in wide wonder, at the joy they had found<em>)

Olivia got ready in the locker room at the precinct. She was dressed in a black lace bra, panties and garter belt. She put her left foot up on the bench and slipped a stocking over it. As she pulled it up over her heel, up her calf, past her knee and clipped in into place the music from the radio blared from behind her.

(_The head nurse spoke up, and she said leave this one alone  
>She could tell right away, that I was bad to the bone<em>)

Jess swiped MAC lip glass over her lips and pouted at her refection. _Perfect_. 

(_Bad to the bone  
>Bad to the bone<br>B-B-B-B-Bad to the bone_)

The detective turned to the garment bag hanging on the lockers behind her. She unzipped it and ran her hand over the silky black dress. She didn't hear the door open and close; nor did she see the figure standing in front of it.

(_B-B-B-B-Bad  
>B-B-B-B-Bad<br>Bad to the bone_)

Jess looked at the little black dress and grinned. She took it off the hanger and carefully put it over her head and slipped it down her body. Richard watched from the open doorway. Their eyes met.

(_I broke a thousand hearts, before I met you  
>I'll break a thousand more baby, before I am through)<em>

Alex swaggered toward Olivia. The detective saw her out of the corner of her eye. As they came face to face they made eye contact. Alex could feel Olivia's body heat. She pushed Olivia against the lockers.

(_I wanna be yours pretty baby, yours and yours alone  
>I'm here to tell ya honey, that I'm bad to the bone<em>)

Richard walked over to his girlfriend. He put his hand behind her neck and kissed her. As she kissed him back his hand fell over her shoulders, down her back and landed on her backside.

(_Bad to the bone  
>B-B-B-Bad<br>B-B-B-Bad_)

Olivia saw the fire in Alex eyes. She couldn't help herself and smirked first. Alex captured her lips and never held back.

(_B-B-B-Bad  
>Bad to the bone<em>)

Jess pushed her body into Richard. He put both hands on her backside and picked her up. He moved to the bed and laid her on it. He pushed her tiny dress up.

(_I make a rich woman beg, I'll make a good woman steal)_

The detective put one foot on the locker behind her; forcing her knee between Alex's legs. The A.D.A. grinded down hard on it.

(_I'll make an old woman blush, and make a young woman squeal_)

He touched her sex gently. "I love you."

(_I wanna be yours pretty baby, yours and yours alone_)

As Alex grinded she bit at Olivia's neck. Then she whispered. "You're beautiful."

(_I'm here to tell ya honey, that I'm bad to the bone_)

She smiled at him. "I want you."

He grinned and kissed her again.

(_B-B-B-B-Bad  
>B-B-B-B-Bad<em>)

Olivia nuzzled at Alex's neck. "I love the way you love me."

Alex smiled and pushed her fingers against the tiny piece of cloth hiding her girlfriend's sex. "Let me show you how much I love you…"

(_B-B-B-B-Bad  
>Bad to the bone<em>)

Richard played gently with his girlfriend's clit through the silky thong.

"More…" Jess moaned.

The young man obliged. He licked at her clit while pushing a finger inside her sex.

"Yeeeessss…." Jess hissed as her eyes rolled back.

He worked a second finger inside his girlfriend's sex and developed an even rhythm.

"Uhhhh…uhhhhh…." Jess bucked her hips trying to make the contact with Richard's fingers deeper. When it wasn't enough she opened her eyes and looked up into his. "I want you."

That was all he needed. The young man grinned. He slowly removed his fingers from Jess and undid his pants. Richard grabbed a condom from the bedside table, ripped it open with is teeth and put it on. He was already hard. He rubbed his penis against her clit.

She shivered as the sensation washed over her. "Hoooww are you sooo haard already…?"

"It's you. You're beautiful." He said as he pushed the head of his penis in and out of his girlfriend's sex.

"Unnnnnn…unnnnn…" she whined.

"What is it?" Richard's grin was sly.

Jess sighed and her eyes shot open. "You know what…quit fuckin' with me…"

Richard leaned over her and their lips were less than in inch apart. There was a time in their relationship where none of this would have been possible. Jess would have been terrified. It was totally different now. The terror was gone and only pleasure and trust was left; it was just them and no one and nothing else. He kissed her softly and pushed gently inside her.

With the first stroke Jess grinned. She loved how he felt inside her. The kiss broke and a rhythm began. Slowly at first but built as fast as their passion for each other did. Richard licked at the tension cord on the right side of Jess's neck.

"Sssssss….uhhhhhh….uhhhh…"

"Jeeesss…I'm goonnnaa…" Richard couldn't believe how incredible it felt to be inside Jess. He loved her more than anything else in the world and this was the cherry on top.

"Uhhhh…dooon't mooove…riiiight thhherrre…"

"I…dooon't knooow whaaat I'mm doooing…" Richard panted. He really didn't. He had learned many moves that worked really well with Jess. Sometimes, though it really was just the luck of the draw. This was one of those times. He had no idea what his penis was hitting or why it was working. It was working though. Jess was squeezing him in such an intense way he couldn't hold on anymore.

"Uhhhhhh…ummmmm…yeeeesss…yyyeeesss…" Jess panted as her orgasm washed over her.

The feeling of his girlfriend coming sent Richard far beyond his threshold. "Ohhhhhh…uhhhhh…" his breath caught in his throat as his orgasm took over.

Richard let Jess push him out. He took the condom off and rolled off her and onto the bed. They caught their breath. She ginned at him. "You still wanna go out?"

He grinned back. "Totally."

**Mojito**

**Saturday May 14****th****, 21:30**

Fin had been told by the man on the door that Mojito was closing at 10PM that night. "Why? I just got here." Fin had said.

"Mojito opens early and closes at 10PM on Wednesday and Saturday nights, Mr. Lawrence. We are sorry for the inconvenience but those are the hours for those days of the week."

He had entered the piano bar without a wire, again. Munch had fought with him the entire way over from the station house about it. Fin had looked around in search of Carlos. The last time they met the suspected drug lord and sex trade ringleader had said they could come to an agreement on the woman that had been sitting with him. After five minutes the detective came to the conclusion that Carlos Ramirez was not at Mojito. He was about to sit down and observe the bar when Lucia walked up to him. "Mr. Lawrence, how can we help you tonight?"

"I was actually looking for Mr. Ramirez."

Lucia smiled sweetly at him. "Unfortunately, Carlos isn't here right now. I can help you with anything you need." She flirted.

"I was hoping you could help me down the hall to one of those rooms." Fin smiled back.

If Carlos had been there she wouldn't have had a choice. Lucia would have been Mr. Lawrence's for however long he wanted her. Tonight, with Carlos at Island and Juan taking care of the shipment that night at Mojito, Lucia was in charge of the girls at the piano bar. She smiled sickly sweet at Mr. Lawrence. "Sadly, I can't tonight. Carlos has left me to oversee the bar. I can introduce you to someone who can see you down the hall and into one of the rooms."

Fin licked his lips as he played his part. "I'll take you up on that offer tonight, provided you take me up on mine next time."

She nodded. "Of course."

Lucia introduced Mr. Lawrence to Gaby, one of the newest girls. The last time she saw them Gaby was leading him down the hall. _Good girl_.

Fin had played it cool with Gaby. They sat in the room for just over thirty minutes and then he left. He walked down the street and around the corner to the unmarked sedan his partner was sitting in.

Munch looked at him as he got in the car. "That was quick."

"Mojito's closing for the night."

Munch looked at him over the top of his glasses. "A little early for Saturday night, isn't it?"

"That's what I was thinking. Ramirez wasn't around either. Something's off here. Pull around and park so we can see the bar front."

**Island**

**Meatpacking District**

**Saturday May 14, 22:14**

Morales typed away at the keyboard in front of him. Stabler looked over as the typing sped up. Spending the last two nights in the back of the surveillance van was beginning to wear on the detective. Normally, he was in the middle of the action. Running interference on the sidelines was not something he was used to. He watched the tech become more engrossed in what he was doing. Elliot had watched Jess do this in the past. The same look and concentration came over both people when they were onto something. Stabler opened his mouth when Morales stopped typing all together. "We're in," he said as he finally sat back.

The detective looked at the three monitors that were each divided into four boxes. Each box represented the output of a camera inside Island; twelve cameras total. Elliot scanned the twelve squares. He spoke to the team inside the club through a small microphone. "We have eyes. Morales hacked into the security system."

Detective Luck clicked in but acted casual in the club as he faced Benson. "Good work. What to the back rooms look like?"

Stabler looked at the video running on the monitors. They were all in the club, not one of the cameras was in a back room or door to the outside. FUCK. He turned to Morales who had started typing again. "Yeah, I know." He said feeling the detective's eyes on him. "We're just into the cameras within the club. Hold on, I'm trying to get the whole system."

Elliot clicked back in. "We only have eyes in the club. Morales is working on getting into everything."

A hint of disappointment flashed across Luck's face. If Benson hadn't been looking at him and concentrating she would have missed it. He clicked in. "We're halfway there. Keep going. We ran through the scenarios without security access and it's time to start putting plan A into effect." He moved closer to Olivia, leaned down as if to whisper in her ear and continued to speak to everyone. "Team one, move out. Team two, get into position."

Benson clicked in. "El, do you see them?"

"Yeah, I got 'em on the monitors."

Morales typed away beside him and four monitors lit up in front of him; all black and white and all of places that were not within the club. "We're in for real this time."

Stabler studied the four monitors for a moment. There was a hallway with doors. A kitchen, a gym and a loading dock. There were also two cameras set up in the back alley, three across the front of the building, one in an elevator and two in the stairwell. Elliot counted six doors in the hall. One was to the security room, one was probably Carlos's office and one might lead to Juan's office. The rest of the doors Stabler guessed lead to the drugs Ramirez was running out of the club. "We have eyes everywhere now. It looks like upstairs is where you wanna be. There is a hallway with six doors. Conceivably, two could be offices and one is the security room."

"Which leaves three unexplained rooms." Luck said. He watched over Olivia's shoulder as one of the teams moved into position and started to work.

Benson watched the other team across the club. Her head was turned slightly to the right as she danced with Luck.

Morales and Stabler watched the monitors. One of the cameras zoomed in, it was being controlled by someone in the security room. As the image became clear so did something else. There were two people in the shot, Olivia Benson and Craig Luck. Elliot clicked in. "We may have a problem."

"What's up?" Luck asked as he and Benson danced. The music had been turned up. It was after 11PM and the club was getting hot.

"Someone zoomed one of the cameras in on you and Liv." Elliot watched as the third door on the left opened and Carlos Ramirez and three other men walked out and down the hall. "Ramirez and three guys just came out of one of the rooms upstairs."

"Where are they going?" Luck asked. The dance floor was becoming crowded as the DJ spun a popular song.

"Down the stairs…" Elliot drew out the sentence as he waited to see where the men went. "One of the guys took off to the left at the bottom of the stairs. Ramirez and the other guys are headed to the bar…"

Benson couldn't see. Her head was turned the wrong way and she was still looking at one of the two teams they had. Luck shot a look towards the bar. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary. "Everyone, hold tight for a minute." The pair were bumped and actually stopped dancing. The detective looked around and realized space was being made on the dance floor.

"El, there is something happening on the dance floor. What's happening? Where is Ramirez?"

"He's still by the bar with his men." Elliot squinted at the screens. He tried to make out what was happening in the open space on the dance floor. Two figures appeared and started to dance.

The music was raised to an unbelievable decibel as the crowd started to jump with their arms in the air. They were watching something.

"There are people dancing in the space." Elliot said.

"Ramirez probably hired them. It's not uncommon for a club owner to pay dancers to pump up the crowd. Is the camera still on Benson and me?"

Elliot glanced at the other camera output. "Yeah…"

Olivia knew that tone. "What is it, El?."

"The people dancing…" There was finally a clear shot of the dancers from one of the cameras. He realized who they were. "The people dancing are Richard and Jess…"

"What!" Olivia's eyes widened as she looked up at Luck and then in the direction of the clearing.

His cell rang. "Stabler!" he barked into it.

"It's Fin. I think we might have a problem at Mojito."

"Well, we definitely have one at Island."

"Is the take-down happening?"

"No, Richard and Jess are in the club."

Fin looked at Munch as he spoke to Stabler. "Why are Jess and Richard in the club?"

"We're not sure. They're in the middle of the dance floor. We gotta get 'em out before anything happens."

"Get 'em out. We'll handle Mojito."

Stabler tossed the cell on the metal desk that held all the equipment and clicked in. "We gotta get a hold of them before we do anything else."

Benson and Luck had spoken. Luck clicked in. "Benson and I will catch 'em after the song is done. Once we have 'em in the clear the plan goes on." The detectives moved through the crowd trying to make their way toward the center, where the teens were dancing.

The camera moved with them. Stabler clicked in. "Camera is following you two across the dance floor."

As Stabler looked back at the screen that had the bar on it he realized Ramirez was still there but he was standing alone. "Ramirez's men are gone."

Benson and Luck could see the opening. They started to push harder through the crowd and work faster; their cover clearly blown. As they almost reached the opening they saw two men grab the teenagers and haul them away. Olivia caught Jess's gaze. The women looked at each other. The music seemed to fade away for both of them and that split second seemed liked a full minute. As if time was frozen. Jess stretched out her arm. "Mama!" she screamed.

The thumping of the music flooded back to both women and seemed louder than ever. The men carried the teens away in a second. "Noooooooo…." Olivia screamed as her daughter disappeared. She took off in the direction the men were going as fast as her heels would allow her. Luck was beside her barking orders. "The men have the kids. Abort the operation. Everyone get to the dance floor, their headed in the direction of the bar."

As the men hit the bar they threw the teens over it. Richard landed on his feet and Jess bumped into him but landed on hers. They looked at Carlos Ramirez, who had a gun pointed at them. "Good evening, join me, won't you." He looked down to an opening in the floor with stair leading downstairs. The teens looked at each other and started down the stairs. Carlos's men headed down next with their guns drawn on the kids. Ramirez followed and at the bottom of the stairs hit a button. The opening closed behind him.

Olivia and Luck got to the bar at the same time, no one was there. "Stabler, where did they go?"

"There's a trapdoor in the floor behind the bar. Ramirez closed it behind them."

Benson tried to control herself. "They're not staying in the basement. Get out of the van and figure out how they're getting outta this club."

Stabler pocketed his cell, opened the back door of the van and rushed out. The street was pretty clear. He ran full tilt around the corner towards the club, Morales was behind him. As they neared the club Stabler finally acknowledged him. "Go around that side, I'll take the far side." Morales split off and started toward one side of the club. Stabler ran to the far side with his gun drawn. He was about to turn the corner when a black Range Rover with dark tinted windows sped around the corner and almost hit him. He drew his gun and fired at the tires. It was no use; the SUV was down the street and around the corner in four seconds. "They're headed east on 8th in a black Range Rover!" He barked into his walkie-talkie. Morales came running toward the sound of gunshots. Benson, Luck and the rest of the team ran out of the front of the club. Elliot was on his way to the unmarked sedan he had driven over to the club in. "Let's go!" he yelled.

Olivia followed him. Luck had driven his Dodge Charger R/T to the club. He and his partner, Martin, ran to it. The rest of the team got in vehicles and waited for instructions. Stabler pulled the car out from the curb and headed in the direction the Rover had headed. He clicked in, "Does Ramirez have other properties that weren't important to the investigation?"

Martin clicked in. "He has a condo in Tribecca. It's clean so we ruled it out weeks ago in the investigation."

"Do you think he'd take them there?" Olivia asked.

Martin and Luck looked at each other. Curtis clicked in. "Don't think so. He knows we know where he lives; it's too obvious. If I had to guess he's headed to Mojito."

Benson and Stabler looked at each other as Olivia punched Munch's cell number into her cell, which she had left in the sedan. Elliot veered the car through traffic in the direction of the piano bar. Luck, Martin and the rest of the team followed.

"Munch."

"John, it's Liv. Did a black Range Rover roll up to Mojito?"

"No, why? What's wrong?" He whispered.

"Ramirez has Jess and Richard. He grabbed them from the club and we think he's on his way to you."

"We haven't seen anything…"

The pause in his voice caused Olivia to yell his name twice before he spoke again. "The Range Rover just flew into the back alley. Ramirez is getting a cocaine shipment right now. We called Cragen who called in SWAT but they're not here yet."

Olivia's eyes widened as her jaw dropped. She lowered her cell. Elliot looked at her sideways. "What? What's going on?" he yelled at her.

She clicked in. "The Rover is at Mojito. So is Ramirez's cocaine. SWAT is on their way for the dope but now it's a hostage situation."

"We gotta get there before SWAT. We need to take Ramirez down without the kids getting hurt." Martin said as calmly as he could.

Olivia raised her cell and spoke to Munch. "We're on our way. Hold your position until we get there."

"You got it."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine: You Can't Always Get What You Want**

The team sped to Mojito. All the cars came to a screeching halt on the asphalt in front of the bar. Olivia had told Munch the frequency they had been using on their walkie-talkies at Island. He and Fin turned theirs to it so they could communicate. Stabler, Benson and two members of the team from Narcotics met Fin and Munch around the back of the bar. Luck, Martin and the rest of the team took the front.

A van had driven into the bar, through a small loading door, around the back. One of the members of the team from Narcotics drove a Ford F250 around the back of Mojito. He rammed the door with the truck. The door crumpled on impact and came away from the track that held it. The detective had driven with such force that he hit the side of the van that transported the cocaine.

Juan Rios spent this Saturday night like every other Saturday night. He was receiving a shipment of cocaine at Mojito. He and Lucia had closed the bar and saw the last patron out at 10:35PM. Lucia had sent the girls back to the small compound in New Jersey where they stayed. One of Carlos's drivers picks them all up in a van at the end of the night and makes sure they make it to the compound. With the girls gone by 10:45PM, Juan blasted The Rolling Stones through the sound system and waited for the 11PM delivery; which had been right on time. Tonight was no different than any other Saturday night, until Carlos barged in through the small loading door. His boss had called him and screamed at him to open the door. Now here he sat, over a million dollars worth of coke, two hostages, his boss was out of his mind and the cops were on their way. He was about to start suggestion things to Carlos when the loading door imploded and a large vehicle rammed into the van. Throughout it all Mick Jagger and The Rolling Stones blasted through the speakers in the small warehouse at the back of Mojito.

(_Oh, a storm is threat'ning __  
><em>_My very life today __  
><em>_If I don't get some shelter __  
><em>_Oh yeah, I'm gonna fade away_)

As Carlos forced the teens out of the Rover two men held guns on them. Carlos got out and started screaming at Juan. This continued until the F250 slammed into the van. It distracted everyone. Richard grabbed Jess's hand and the pair started to take off in the opposite direction. Carlos ran after them and grabbed Jess by the hair. He yanked her backward and out of Richard's grasp. She yelped so loud Richard, Elliot and Olivia heard her over the chaos.

(_War, children, it's just a shot away __  
><em>_It's just a shot away __  
><em>_War, children, it's just a shot away __  
><em>_It's just a shot away_)

He dragged her out into the open. Jess stopped fighting and followed him. Richard ran around the front of the van. Something caught his eye. A silver plated 9 millimeter was sitting on the dashboard. He tried the driver's door. It was unlocked. He opened the door and grabbed the gun. He ducked down and headed back towards Carlos and Jess.

(_Ooh, see the fire is sweepin' __  
><em>_Our very street today_)

"Ramirez!" Stabler shouted at him over the music and chaos. "Put down the gun!"

(_Burns like a red coal carpet __  
><em>_Mad bull lost its way_)

"Not on your life, Detective Stabler!" He pointed the gun at Jess's ribs.

(_War, children, it's just a shot away __  
><em>_It's just a shot away_)

"We have the place surrounded. It's over, Ramirez!" Fin yelled. The six detectives had their guns drawn on the eight men that stood before them with their guns drawn. "Let the girl go and give it up!"

(_War, children, it's just a shot away __  
><em>_It's just a shot away_)

"Not on your life! Or should I say hers." He licked the side of Jess's face. She tried to turn away in disgust.

(_Rape, murder! __  
><em>_It's just a shot away __  
><em>_It's just a shot away_)

"Not until I make this one _mine_!"

(_Rape, murder!_)

"She's gonna be _all_ mine!" He screamed as he held Jess tighter and pushed the barrel of the gun hard into her ribs. She shut her eyes to the pain.

__(_It's just a shot away_)

The feeling of the cold metal against the palm of her hand was unusual. It was on rare occasion she held a gun. He had taught her well, but she had never actually shot anyone. The night had spiraled out of control so fast. Hearing his words. Seeing the look in Jess's eyes made the feeling of the gun good. Her other hand was brought up to stead the shot as it was lined up from behind her lover.

(_It's just a shot away_)

The detectives aimed their guns at Carlos. Olivia screamed at him. "You'll never get out of here alive! Let her go!"

(_Rape, murder!_)

He stood with his feet apart and braced himself. He had been to the shooting range many times with his father. It was time to put is practice to good use. This was not going to happen again, Richard told himself. Jess was not going to become a victim again. He lined up the shot.

_(It's just a shot away)_

The trigger was pulled.

_(It's just a shot away)_

Carlos Ramirez's head exploded. Jess ducked and ran as his body fell forward. A hail of gunfire began between the detectives and Ramirez's men.

(_The floods is threat'ning __  
><em>_My very life today __  
><em>_Gimme, gimme shelter __  
><em>_Or I'm gonna fade away_)

Richard looked at the gun. He never pulled the trigger. Someone else shot Carlos. He saw Jess and ran toward her.

(_War, children, it's just a shot away_)

Detectives Luck and Martin burst through a door behind Ramirez's men and started shooting at them.

(_It's just a shot away_)

They knocked over a short dark-haired woman in a short dress when they came through the door. One of the detectives pushed her onto her stomach and kicked the gun she had dropped away from her. They handcuffed the young woman and ordered her to stay on the ground.

(_It's just a shot away_)

Five of Ramirez's men were shot and wounded before they all surrendered.

(_It's just a shot away_)

Richard held Jess as they hid on the other side of the van with the drugs in it.

(_It's just a shot away_)

The detectives moved in and handcuffed the men in the small warehouse. Olivia and Elliot screamed. "Jess!"

"Richard!"

When the teens didn't answer the detectives became hysterical. They ran through the area. Fin and Munch started searching as well. Elliot found them crouched down by one of the van's front tires. "They're here! Liv, over here!" he screamed as he knelt down beside them. Olivia came around the front of the van from the other side and collapsed beside them.

(_I tell you love, sister, it's just a kiss away_)

Elliot tried to get Richard's attention. "It's okay, son. It's over. You can let her go."

(_It's just a kiss away_)

Olivia tried to do the same with Jess. She held out her hand. "Jessie, sweetheart, it's okay. You're safe."

(_It's just a kiss away_)

It took several tries but the detectives managed to make the teens hear them and understand them.

(_It's__just a kiss away_)

Neither teen would stand so Elliot and Olivia hugged them as they were on the concrete floor.

(_It's just a kiss away_)

Jess and Richard wouldn't speak. They couldn't. They were in shock.

(_Kiss__away, kiss away_)

**Sunday May 15, 01:15**

The detectives had separated Richard and Jess at Mojito in order to preserve the investigation. They had been looked at by paramedics and cleared. Olivia and Elliot had been told to go to the compound where the young women Carlos Ramirez and Juan Rios had forcibly confined and prostituted were being held to interview them. Fin and Munch had interviewed Lucia at the scene and gotten the information about the compound and the girls. They had taken her back to the stationhouse. She had murdered Carlos Ramirez. Detective Luck had interviewed Jess and his partner, Detective Martin, had interviewed Richard. Five of Ramirez's men had been taken to the hospital and couldn't be interviewed yet. The other three were in separate interview rooms back at the Narcotics stationhouse being interviewed by members of the Narcotics team.

Juan Rios was taken to SVU's stationhouse to be interviewed. Melinda Warner had been called to the scene to officially pronounce Ramirez dead. He was transported to the Medical Examiner's office for autopsy in the morning. SVU needed empirical detectives to interview Jess and Richard; Luck and Martin had volunteered. As Jess's interview wrapped up she asked if she was being charged with anything. Luck looked over the coffee table at her. "What could we possibly charge you with?"

Jess shrugged. She was in no state to hazard a guess at what was coming her way.

"You work for computer crimes." It came out more as a statement than a question.

She nodded, not the least bit surprised he knew.

"That tech, Morales, he speaks pretty highly of you."

"Oh yeah?"

The detective nodded. "He wanted to bring you in on this but Stabler and your mom said not to."

Jess shifted on the couch. "They want me to take a break."

"Look, Jess, work will always be there. Having the opportunity to do something else, experience something else isn't always going to be there. Think about that."

The teen nodded slowly. "I have tiny pieces Carlos Ramirez's head stuck in my hair. I am seriously going to think about other experiences." She shifted and sat up slightly. "What's gonna happen to Lucia?"

Luck noticed the shift in the kid. "I'm not sure yet. You know I couldn't tell you anyway, even if I did know."

Jess pursed her lips. "Can I please see her?"

Fin and Munch had interviewed her. SVU was dealing with the under-age prostitution portion of what happened at Mojito. "Let me talk to Fin and Munch. I'll let you know."

"Thanks." Jess extended her hand out to him. "You've been really understanding."

He shook her hand. "You're gonna make a good cop one day."

For the first time, shock found its way onto Jess's face.

Luck gave her a half-smile. "You think you had me fooled?"

Her features changed quickly as she spoke softly. "I've managed to fool everyone else."

The detective had a full-on grin. "You haven't fooled anyone. They're in denial because it's the last thing they want for you."

Jess smiled. "Do me a solid and don't mention that."

"My lips are sealed."

**02:02**

Stabler and Benson watched the last of the young female victims being put into an ambulance before they got in their sedan and drove back to the stationhouse. They had interviewed all twenty girls and had sent them to hospitals to be monitored. Olivia gave her partner a sideways glance as he drove through the lightly traveled streets. "What do you think?"

He met her eyes briefly and then watched the road. "I'm not sure how we can keep them all here for the trial. They're minors who all want to go home and unfortunately home isn't anywhere near here. None of them want to see Ramirez or Rios again. At least three of them won't make it past a grand jury they are so distraught."

"I need to tell you something. I've never asked you to do this before but what I'm about to tell you needs to stay between us."

"Okay." Stabler said.

"I've seen Lucia and five of the victims before. So has Alex and Jess."

He narrowed his eyes and looked right at his partner. "Where? Where have you seen them before?"

"She and five of the victims tried to carjack Alex a couple of nights ago. Lucia had Alex's car keys and she and Jess got into an argument. They hit each other and I pulled them off one another. Jess said she knew Lucia from school, which is obviously a lie."

"Richard and Jess have a lot of explaining to do. Why were they in that club? If Jess knows Lucia, then I guarantee Richard knows her too."

Benson sighed. "Aside from having to interrogate our kids we have to figure out what to do with this case. You need to talk to Lucia and find out if she'll testify against Rios. According to all the other victims she's been prostituted longer than anyone else. Now that INS is involved I can't see them recommending we keep the underage victims here."

"And once they are deported back home we'll never get them back here to testify."

"Lucia is the only one old enough to decide if she wants to stay and try and claim asylum or not. If she doesn't choose to press charges against Rios our case isn't even a case."

**02:06**

Detective Luck excused himself and spoke to Fin and Munch. He was back five minutes later and motioned to Jess from the door of the kid's room she was still sitting in. She got up and followed him to Interview Three. She opened the door and walked in. "Hey."

Lucia looked up from the chair she was sitting in. "Hey."

When she didn't protest Jess closed the door, walked over to the table and sat in the chair opposite Lucia. The girls looked at each other. "Thank you."

The young dark-haired woman shrugged. "He was going to shoot you."

"I didn't know…Lucia, I didn't know what Carlos was doing."

"No one did. You thought he owned a club and a bar. That's it."

"True. I had no idea what he was doing in Mojito but that's not what I meant." Jess extended her arm and opened her hand, palm up, on the cold metal table. "I didn't know what he was doing to you."

Their eyes never wandered. Lucia took Jess's hand. "I was thirteen when he took me from my home. He told me things over and over. Somehow, over time, I believed them. I believed him and forgot the real world. I forgot about my family." Tears started to run down Lucia's cheeks. "I couldn't imagine life without him. At first he forced me to do things to him. Eventually, I let him do them; I didn't even cry anymore. I started helping him with his business. I brought those girls to him." She stopped, disgusted with herself.

Jess gripped her hand gently. "Lucia, you were just a kid when he took you. You didn't have a choice. He kidnapped you and isolated you. One of the reasons you believed him and started helping him sounds like Stockholm syndrome. It's a psychological condition. He terrorized you into feeling the way you did and doing what you did. This isn't your fault."

Lucia looked away for the first time. "Tell that to all the girls I brought to him so he could rape them and sell them to men."

"Hey." Jess squeezed her hand gently. Lucia met her eyes again. "You're a victim, too. He kidnapped and raped you. You will break through his hold, Lucia. You already started tonight when you shot him to save me. Thank you for saving my life."

The other woman nodded and swallowed hard trying to stop her tears. "I'm sorry about the…"

Jess stopped her before she started. The tiny brunette knew Luck was listening to the conversation and she didn't want to bring the carjacking into the investigation. "Other day after my audition?" Jess finished Lucia's sentence. "It's really not a problem. I totally understand the pressure you were under. I shouldn't have said what I did to you either. I think we should both put it behind us."

She nodded as tears continued to fall down her cheeks. Lucia was very smart. She understood what Jess was saying. There was a knock from behind the mirror. Jess closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them. "I have to go. Could I see you again?"

Lucia pursed her lips and nodded.

"I'll find you. I promise I will try and help you."

"Stay away clubs and bars. Go to school. Tell your mom you love her."

Tears filled Jess's eyes. Lucia wanted her to have something that had been taken from her, a childhood. "I will."

Jess stood and Lucia squeezed her hand tighter. "Promise me."

"I promise." Tears ran down Jess's cheeks.

The young women let each other go. Jess walked out of the room and closed the door. Olivia was standing there. "What are you doing?"

"Saying thank you."

Olivia shook her head as she looked between Detective Luck and her daughter. "You're done here. We're going home." She turned and started to walk away.

Jess looked at Luck. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

As Jess followed Olivia through the bullpen Elliot, and Richard were also on they're way out, Alex was sitting at Jess's desk waiting for them. She had been briefed on the SVU side of this fiasco. Munch, Fin, Luck and Martin were all taking turns trying to get a confession out of Rios for his involvement in every aspect of Carlos Ramirez's businesses. So far they were having no successes. Fin and Munch were taking a break and were on their way into interview Lucia some more. Martin and Luck were now in with Rios.

When the teens saw each other they instantly went to each other and hugged. Their parents grabbed them and pulled them apart.

"Get off me!" Richard shouted, as he broke free from his father.

"Let go of me!" Jess yelled at Olivia.

"You two are not to see each other." Elliot's tone was stern.

"She's my girlfriend." Richard gestured to Jess.

"We don't care." Olivia said finally letting go of her daughter.

Jess turned to her. "You can't do that!"

"Oh, yes, we can." Olivia looked between the teens.

"We have had it. The lies, the sleeping together, the sneaking around." Elliot eyed both of them. "You have managed to put yourselves in so much danger it's unbelievable."

Olivia crossed her arms. "Not to mention the position you have put us in. How do you think this makes us look? The department look? The D.A's office look?"

Elliot leveled a look at both kids. "How did you two think this was all gonna shake out?"

Silence.

Richard and Jess looked at each other and then at the adults. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too." Jess bit her bottom lip. "I never thought about the squad or the D.A.'s office."

"You'll have lots of time to do so. You're punishment starts now and is open-ended." Olivia uncrossed her arms.

"Yours too." Elliot pointed at his son.

"Let's go." Olivia took Jess by the arm.

Jess and Richard looked at each other until she disappeared out the door of the squad room.

**Residence of A.D.A. Cabot, Detective Benson and Jess O'Malley**

**310 Central Park West**

**Sunday May, 15th, 04:11**

The ride home was silent. Alex and Olivia looked at Jess as they walked into the condo. "It's late." Alex said in a weary tone.

"We'll discuss your punishment in the morning." Olivia had forgotten the fact that the sun would be rising in a little over an hour.

"Okay." Jess said not making eye contact.

Alex broke and hugged Jess tightly. "You scared the hell out of us."

"I know I did. I'm sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen."

The A.D.A. let go and Olivia looked at her daughter. "Why? The club…why?" The detective had trouble forming a sentence. She was angry at Jess but more than anything she was terrified by the thought of having almost lost her that night.

Jess shook her head. "We were dancing. That's it. There is nowhere for teenagers to dance like that in the city. We never drank or did drugs; the urine tests will prove that. It was never about partying or defying you or being somewhere we shouldn't be. It was just about dancing." She shrugged. "You have to believe me we never meant to hurt anyone. We never thought what we were doing would ever come back on anyone. If we thought it might we would have never done it. I swear."

Olivia didn't know what to do. Part of her wanted to hug her daughter and never let her go. The other part of her, the part that won that night, was too embarrassed to let anyone see how scared she was. "I believe you and Richard, too. That doesn't change what you did. It doesn't change that you paid off bouncers to let you into a club you weren't old enough to be in in the first place. It doesn't change that you lied to Alex and me for months about what you were doing. We point blank asked you in the winter where you and Richard went on your dates and you lied to our faces. You furthered the charade by lying to us about how you knew Lucia."

"I'm still unclear about that. How do you know her?" Alex asked in a stern tone.

The teen lowered her head. "I know. I'm really sorry. I don't know how to fix this; how to make it right. Richard and I met Carlos last week. We were walking by Island during the day and he came out and started talking to us. Through the conversation he found out I have a vocal coach. He asked if I wanted to audition for him at his piano bar. Richard and I said sure. So we went and I auditioned. Carlos said he liked me and wanted me to sing a few nights during the week this summer. Lucia is his girlfriend and was sitting with him the whole time we were there."

"You can't fix what happened. You can't change it, either." Olivia said trying not to break down and cry.

Alex shook her head. "Do you have any idea how unintelligent so much of what you just said sounds?

Jess nodded.

"No, I'm serious." Alex's demeanor changed as rage built. "For two very bright teenagers you and Richard were incredibly stupid. A guy walks out of a club, during the day, and the three of you strike up a conversation. Apparently you tell him you can sing, he offers to give you an audition and you say yes? What part of that doesn't scream trouble to you?" Alex pressed.

"Al…" Olivia looked at her.

The A.D.A. continued. She glanced at Olivia. "No, I'm serious." She looked back down at Jess. "All the crap you have seen in the squad room, all the common sense you have and what do you do? Talk to a strange guy, tell him personal information and then meet him, again, to audition in a bar. What were you thinking? What the…"

"Alex!" Olivia looked hard at her.

Jess looked up with tears in her eyes. "What do you want me to do? I was stupid, I know. I could have been raped, I know. What do you want me to do?"

"Take a shower and wash what's left of Carlos Ramirez's grey matter out of your hair. Go to bed. The three of us will sit down tomorrow and figure this out."

Jess looked between the women. She wanted to hug them both and tell them how much she loved them. To tell them she would do anything to gain back their trust. She lowered her head, turned and went to her room.

Olivia sighed and looked at Alex. "She's lost. We almost lost her today and all you could do was tell her she was stupid."

Alex turned and walked into their bedroom. Olivia followed and closed the door. The A.D.A. stared at the detective. "You yelled at her, too. Don't blame me for lashing out. You treat her like a perp all the time."

"I'm sorry, were you not involved in the discussion tonight with Elliot? I believe the three of us agreed we had to be tough with Jess and Richard."

The A.D.A. crossed her arms. "Tough! She could have been raped by Ramirez or Rios countless times over the last few months. What was she thinking?"

"She doesn't know. She certainly can't explain it tonight. Look, they have been lying to us for months." Olivia said as she gestured in the direction of Jess bedroom. "About where they are, what they're doing. We need to focus on that right now. They're sleeping together, even though we told them not to."

Alex pointed at Olivia. "You defended that, to me, months ago in the kitchen."

"That was different…"

"No, it wasn't." Alex shook her head. "Nudds trial was going on and that was difficult. The rest, all the same. We were totally involved with our work and Jess was overwhelmed. Olivia, she goes to school, therapy and work. In order to get away from all that she sings and dances. She could be far more destructive. We need to focus on the poor choices she made as well as the lying."

"She and Richard landed themselves in the middle of a drug running organization and under-age prostitution ring. How much more destructive could she get?"

Alex's jaw dropped. "She didn't do that on purpose. She had no idea about the drugs or the prostitution. She was dancing at Island for the same reason we dance at 904, release. She was going to sing at Mojito because it makes her feel good to sing. It's the same reason I go to the gym and you jog. She wouldn't have even been at Mojito if she and Richard had just walked away from Ramirez on the street. The lying is a big deal but so is the blatant lack of reasonable thought. She's almost seventeen and still very easy prey despite everything she has been through. She needs to be far more aware of what she was doing when she speaks to a strange guy on the street."

Olivia narrowed her eyes. "I find it really interesting that you're defending what she's done for the last nine months here and now and are only really angry that she made a few bad decisions in the last week regarding one man. At the station house you were all for being tough and punishing her. Her decision to speak to Ramirez on the street put her in just as much danger as going out to Island and dancing."

"I'm not defending what Jess did. I am trying to explain to you that she's not on drugs and she's not drinking, which she could have very easily done at Island. She could very easily do that every day here, in this house, and keep it from us. Jess was well intentioned and tried to find positive outlets for her stress. I'm not saying they were right, but there was certainly no malice or danger in what she was trying to do." Alex lowered her voice. "Yes, she lied. She needs to be punished for that. Yes, she and Richard need a break. We are giving them one. Yes, it was inappropriate for her to go to a club, pay off bouncers and sing in a piano bar. She will be punished for that, too. Just…don't overlook her talking to a strange guy and telling him really personal stuff about herself. It's still a really stupid decision."

Olivia nodded. "I know. You're right. We'll talk to her about that too. What happened tonight wasn't her fault."

"I know. We can't confuse how scared we are from almost losing her with what she's done. They're different."

The detective closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them she met deep blue eyes. "He had a gun to her head."

"I know." Alex whispered.

"He could have pulled the trigger."

"I know."

"One minute my baby is alive and the next she could have been dead."

"I know."

"I love her so much."

"I know."

"Why do I put her through so much?"

"We."

Olivia raised her brow. "What?"

"We. Why do we put her through so much?"

The pair hugged. They concluded that tomorrow would be a better time to sort everything out. They undressed and fell into bed. Olivia was up by 10AM. She and the rest of the detectives still had a lot of work to do on the cases. She got ready for work and left her girlfriend and daughter sleeping in their respective beds. She went into Jess's room and looked at her. The teen was lying on her stomach. Pangs hit the detective as she picked up her daughter's laptop and took it to the bedroom her and Alex shared. It was the first step in Jess's punishment.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten: But If You Try Sometimes, You Just Might Find You Get What You Need**

**Manhattan's SVU Squad Room**

**Sunday May 15th, 12:34**

The detectives had re-grouped and shared all the information they needed. Cragen and the Captain from Narcotics, Alex and Narcotics A.D.A. Chris Soberano joined the detectives in the conference room. The Captain from Narcotics looked around. "Well, what's the final word?"

Detective Martin looked at his Captain. "Well, the drugs weren't where we thought they'd be. Turns out Island _is_ as legitimate as a club can be these days. We had SWAT raid it from top to bottom last night. It was clean. Mojito on the other hand was as dirty as they come."

Detective Luck took over as he pointed to pictures of evidence on the monitors. "We seized over a million dollars in cocaine while it was being off-loaded in the loading dock at Mojito. We tossed the place and seized all their computer equipment. It's down at One P.P. now getting the once over by Computer Crimes."

"Any word on what's on the computers?" The Captain asked.

Martin shook his head. "Not yet. We're hoping there are records on them of transactions. Either way, with Ramirez dead it'll be Juan Rios that is charged."

The Captain looked to A.D.A. Soberano. "What have we got him on right now?"

"Well, without a doubt, trafficking of a controlled substance. Given the weight and street value he's looking at a significant amount of time. Couple that with the violence he engaged in during the takedown and the charges coming to him from SVU, Juan Rios won't see the light of day again."

"What are _we_ charging him with?" Cragen asked.

Munch started. "Our concern was always with the young women Ramirez and Rios were running. We knew Rios was involved but we didn't know to what extent."

Cragen raised his brow. "And now?"

Fin looked at him and pointed to pictures on the monitor board. "Lucia Almeida confirmed that Rios was totally involved in Ramirez's predilections. According to her he brought in at least eighty-five percent of Mojito's male clientele. He also oversaw the running of the compound where the girls they trafficked stayed. Which, by the way we traced to a dummy corporation that only has a P.O. box as an address."

"Rios also made all the arrangements for Almeida to bring back girls from Ecuador. And it was her that was bringing most of the girls back. Ramirez was smart enough to keep his noise clean of almost everything." Munch said.

Luck shook his head. "We just thought they were friends of Lucia's, you know. They were around her age or a little younger. She never brought more than two back with her at a time. If we had known…or suspected…"

Fin put his hand on his ex-partners shoulder. "You couldn't have known, man. Don't blame yourself for this."

Cragen looked at Alex. "What can we charge Juan Rios with?"

"For starters, human trafficking of minors, solicitation of minors for the purposes of sexual exploitation, facilitating prostitution and sex trafficking of minors and rape of a minor." Alex said in an even tone, although her eyes were dark with distain.

"He raped the girls, too?" Cragen asked.

"He raped Lucia, repeatedly. She's agreed to press charges." Alex nodded slightly. "None of the other victims will testify in court. In fact, INS is in the midst of deporting them back to their respective homes. Their statements in their interviews will be admissible in court and go to Lucia's credibility when she testifies against Rios."

"Are we charging Lucia with anything?" Cragen asked hopeful the answer was going to be no.

Alex shook her head. "No, she's eighteen and a half now. Carlos Ramirez kidnapped her from her home in Ecuador when she was thirteen. She suffered years of abuse, mental, sexual and physical, as well as rape, intimidation and humiliation from him and Juan Rios. The two of them brainwashed her and used her as puppet. She's been through enough."

Cragen nodded. "Good work everyone." He looked at the other Captain. "Kevin, thanks for bringing this to us." He held out his hand.

The other Captain shook it. "No, problem, Don." He looked around at the detectives. "Nice work. I'm glad we could collaborate on this one." Both Captains and the two A.D.A.'s left. The six detectives remained in the room. Fin shut down the monitor board. "It was nice workin' with you guys on this one."

"Yeah, you guys in sex crimes aren't as creepy as everyone says you are." Martin said with a half-smile.

"Is that a compliment? I think…I think that might have been a compliment…" Stabler said as he packed up some evidence.

"Yeah, yeah…Stabler. It was a compliment." Luck said shaking his head as he packed up some evidence and placed it in boxes.

Munch packed up some pictures and put them in a box. "Stabler's not familiar with compliments, he doesn't normally get them."

Fin packed up the two laptops. "You guys wanna grab a beer later?"

Martin and Luck looked at each other and nodded. "Sure."

Benson put the paperwork in order and signed off on some of it. "Sorry guys, I'm out."

"Seriously?" Luck said as he looked at her.

She looked at him. "Sorry. Next time, I promise."

"She's gotta get home to the wife and kid." Stabler said with a grin.

Benson shot him a sideways glance. "Don't you have a wife and baby you should be getting home to?"

After they packed everything up Luck found Benson getting her second cup of coffee. "You have a great kid."

She smiled at him. "Thanks. She's in a lot of trouble right now."

He shrugged. "Don't be too hard on her. You know her and Richard's urine tests came back clean."

"Oh, I'm aware. The fact that they were given urine tests is part of the problem." She said shaking her head. "They were in a club, _a__club_ for God's sakes."

"That's not so bad."

Benson took a sip of coffee. "Really? Lying, sneaking around and going to clubs isn't _so_ bad?"

"Hey, when I was seventeen me and some friends stole my dad's 1970 Challenger and drove it across two state lines."

"Seriously?" Benson grinned.

"Seriously." Luck nodded. "Jess seems to be a really good kid who was just trying to have a good time. She's pretty intense I think she just needed an outlet."

Benson nodded.

Luck put his hand on her shoulder. "Just, try not to be too hard on her. At least she stayed in the city."

"Thanks. I know you interviewed her and I appreciate how good you were with her."

"No problem. Nice workin' with you." He put out his hand.

She shook it. "Nice working with you, too."

**Residence of A.D.A. Cabot, Detective Benson and Jess O'Malley**

**Sunday May 15th, 19:12**

Jess couldn't study anymore. She had hit her limit and couldn't concentrate. She also knew her punishment was looming and she wanted to know what was coming her way. The teen walked out of her room and found her quasi mothers sitting in the living room. She sat at the opposite end of the couch and stared at them. "Well…?" she finally said after they ignored her.

Alex and Olivia looked at her. The detective began. "No laptop in your room. It's been set up in the den and you can use it for homework or when you need to go to work, that's it."

"No extra curricular activities this summer. No softball with Casey." Alex shook her head. "We are going to let you continue to practice with the band because you made a commitment there and we don't want to put the others out."

"You will go to work, band practice, therapy and then home. That is your summer. If you need an outlet for anything come find me at the squad. There is a ton of backlogged filing that can be done and other time-consuming jobs of that nature. Feel free to stop by and be put to work."

"You and Richard are on a break until further notice. Kathy, Elliot, Liv and I will be sitting down this week to discuss when we might consider letting the two of you see each other." Alex said in a dry tone.

"When and if we do let the two of you see each other again it will be under supervision. The pair of you have done nothing but lie to us for months. The trust we had in you both is gone as is your freedom to conduct yourselves as adults. It's clear neither of you can handle it." Olivia said without an expression.

Alex held out her hand. "Cell phone."

Jess's eyes grew wide. She understood everything up until then. "Why?"

Alex narrowed her eyes. "Because it's a luxury and you don't deserve it."

"I pay for it though. I bought the phone and pay for the service. I need my cell, it's a safety issue." Jess countered carefully.

The adults looked at each other then looked back their daughter. Olivia nodded. "Fine, for your safety you can keep the phone. You are to have no friends over here. You are not to play video games. You may watch tv out here but the laptop stays in the den while you're at home. The punishment is in effect until further notice."

Jess nodded when Olivia and Alex were silent for over five seconds. "Okay, I understand."

"Good. If at anytime for any reason you lose sight of the punishment you will no longer be working for Computer Crimes." Alex said.

"Okay." Jess looked down and fidgeted with her fingers.

Olivia knew the kid was struggling with something. "What is it?"

"I uhh…I have a question."

"What?"

"What is going to happen with Lucia?"

Alex and Olivia looked at each other. The blonde sighed and looked at Jess. "I am helping her claim asylum."

"Sooo, she's staying in New York and she's not being charged with anything?" Jess asked quietly.

"That's correct." Alex nodded.

"Leave her alone. Seriously, Jess, leave her alone. Don't seek her out and don't ask us about her. She's part of an on-going case that is none of your business." Olivia said sternly.

"I won't. I get it. I just…she needs help and I hope she gets it."

**Residence of A.D.A. Cabot, Detective Benson and Jess O'Malley**

**Monday May 16th, 11:44**

Jess had taken the week off from work. She had told Morales weeks ago she wouldn't be in this week because of her exams. Despite the teen's punishment she was still allowed to practice with the band and go to therapy. She walked through the lobby of the building and said hi to Carlos, who was behind the security desk. Jess rode the elevator up and got off on the top floor. The elevator door closed behind her and she walked towards her door.

"Meeeewww."

The teen stopped and turned around. In front of the elevator door was a tiny grey and white tabby kitten.

"Meeewwww."

Jess knelt down and the kitten came bouncing towards her. It ran into her and started rubbing its face on her legs. She picked it up and looked right into its eyes. "Where did you come from?"

"Meeeewwww."

She stood up and held the kitten to her chest. It nestled in her hand against her chest as she walked to the other end of the hall. There were only two units on the penthouse floor of the condo building. She knocked on the neighbor's door. A housekeeper opened the door. "Hey, Jess."

"Hey, Susan. Did the Murphy's get a kitten?" She pointed to the tabby with her free hand.

"No, Mrs. Murphy's allergic. They'd never get a cat. It's really cute, though. It's not yours?"

Jess shook her head. "No, I found it in the hall."

Susan pet the kitten's head. "You should take it down to the lobby and ask Carlos about it."

"Good call. Thanks, Susan."

Jess took the kitten downstairs and asked Carlos about it. He said no one had said they lost it but if they did he would send them up to see Jess. The teen thought about this for a minute. _If__no__one__claimed__the__kitten__could__it__be__hers?__Finders__keepers?_ She made a phone call and went upstairs to wait. Her cell rang thirty minutes later and she took the kitten downstairs with her to get the mail, and meet the caller.

Jaylyn smiled at the sight of her friend and the kitten. The girls hugged. "Got everything you asked for." Jaylyn handed Jess two bags.

"Thanks so much, Jaylyn. I really appreciate you grabbing this stuff up and bringing it over." Jess handed the kitten to Jaylyn, took money out of her wallet and handed it to her friend.

"How long is this house arrest again?"

Jess rolled her eyes. "Who knows? They won't let me see Richard and they confiscated my laptop."

"You managed to keep your cell." Jaylyn smiled. "Nice work."

"I bought the phone and pay for the service every month. I had to argue but they let me keep it."

"Don't you need your laptop for work?"

"Yeah. It's actually in the den. I can use it in there for studying and I can take it to One P.P. for work-that's it."

"And you really think they're gonna let you keep him?" Jaylyn held the kitten to her face, kissed it and handed it back to Jess.

"Hard to say. I'm in some pretty deep shit here."

"For so much deep shit you seem to be dealing really well with it."

Jess shrugged. "Well, signed, sealed, delivered I'm Livie's, forever. She can't send me back to foster care so I know I'm not going anywhere."

"You know she wouldn't send you back, even if the adoption hadn't gone through. Olivia loves you."

"I know. It feels good to know that, actually."

The friends smiled at each other. "Let me know how the kitten goes over."

"Will do. See ya tomorrow."

Jess held the kitten, grabbed the mail and the two bags and headed back upstairs. Once inside she unpacked the bags. She set up a litter box in the small laundry room, bowls of food and water in the kitchen, scratching post in her own room and three toys. She had the kitten for seven hours before anyone came home.

**19:25 **

Olivia had finally made it home and was standing in the kitchen, beside her girlfriend and in front of their daughter. "Soooo…maybe you should start from the beginning. I'm confused how even though you are grounded you managed to acquire a kitten and all the paraphernalia that it could possibly need."

"It's really quite innocent."

Alex crossed her arms. "Be that as it may, we'd like to hear it-from the top."

The teenager explained her day from the time she stepped off the elevator and heard the kitten.

As the story unfolded Olivia could tell Alex was getting more annoyed. She beat her girlfriend to the punch and asked the first question. "So no one has gone to Carlos about the kitten. We understand that. What is your intention with this kitten?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you two about. I was wondering if you would let me keep him?" Jess asked in a hopeful tone.

"Absolutely not." Alex said.

"Why?" The hope in her tone had faded and sadness was the only emotion left.

Olivia looked at her girlfriend but spoke to Jess. "We have to talk about this. Go to your room."

The teen stood up and left the kitchen. Alex met Olivia's eyes. "What is there to discuss?"

"Uh, well for starters, why are you so against her having a kitten?"

Alex finally uncrossed her arms. "Then we'll have a kitten running around the house. We both work too much as it is. Neither of us has enough time for Jess, never mind a kitten."

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Jess is sixteen; she's capable of taking care of this kitten alone."

"And when she goes away to college in a year and a half?" Alex asked over the top of her black rimmed glasses.

"Then we'll have a cat running around the house." The detective realized. As if on cue, the kitten bounced into the kitchen and ran into Olivia's legs. It rubbed its head against her until she picked it up. The brunette nuzzled it and looked at her girlfriend. "Would that really be so bad? Plus, if Jess goes to NYU or Hudson she'll be living here."

"I've never had a pet. I don't want one. If you and Jess can work out a system where I do nothing and just exist in the same space as this mangy hairball, then fine."

"A system?" Olivia said with a half-smile.

"Yes, a system!" Alex gestured. "A feeding system, cleaning system. Whatever it needs just create a system in which it all gets done and I don't do any of it."

A crooked smiled appeared on Olivia's face. "Wow…really, a feeding and cleaning system."

The A.D.A. crossed her arms, again. "I could just say no."

Olivia cuddled the kitten to her chest with one hand and held out her other in protest. "Okay, alright…we'll devise a _system_."

"Jess, come out here!" Alex shouted.

The tiny brunette flew into the kitchen and took her seat.

Alex continued. "You will make flyers with the kitten's picture on it and post them downstairs and in the elevators. Make sure you clear it with Carlos first. If no one claims the kitten you may keep it on a couple of conditions."

Jess couldn't help it and squealed with excitement.

"Calm down." Olivia tried to hide her own excitement. "The first condition is that the kitten is yours, it's your responsibility."

"That means you pay for all the stuff it needs and create a system where whatever it needs you do it and we just exist around it."

"What?" Jess looked from Alex to Olivia confused.

The detective looked at her daughter. "You feed it, water it and clean out its litter box. This kitten should not disrupt my life or Al's in any way."

"Done." Jess nodded.

"Those are just the rules today. We reserve the right to create new rules that you have to adhere to at anytime." Alex uncrossed her arms but leaned in slightly.

"Fine." Jess had a huge grin on her face.

"Congratulations." Olivia's grinned matched her daughter's.

"Yesssss. Thank you!" Jess hugged both women. She looked at Alex. "Will you hold him?"

"He's mangy. Take him to the vet and have him checked for fleas."

Olivia stepped closer to her girlfriend. She held the kitten towards Alex and pretended to be the kitten's voice. "Please Al, please hold me."

The A.D.A. rolled her eyes but took the kitten. She held it awkwardly and stared straight into its green eyes. "Do you have fleas?"

The gray tabby wiggled and bit down on Alex's index finger with its needle sharp teeth.

"Son of a bitch…" she held the kitten out to her daughter. "That little fucker bit me."

Jess and Olivia burst out laughing. The teen took the kitten from Alex. "He's a baby. He's going to bite."

"Take him to the vet. Have him neutered, declawed and vaccinated." Alex said annoyed.

"I'll have him vaccinated and neutered when it's time. I will not have him declawed."

"If he wrecks anything in this house, it's on your head." Olivia warned.

"I got it. Thanks again."

Jess put the kitten down and chased it into the living room.

"I expect to see those flyers up in the building tomorrow!" Alex called after her.

**Tuesday May 17th, 11:45**

Jess had finished up her exam. She was on her way to the subway when she pulled out her phone and dialed the number.

"Hello, Sharon Wilkinson speaking."

"Hey, Sharon, it's Jess O'Malley."

There was a slight pause.

"Hey, Jess how are you?"

The teen was sure Sharon had many cases. It didn't surprise her that it took her a minute to remember who she was. "I'm fine. Ummm…I was wondering if I could come by and see Liam Andrews? He's still at the group home, right?"

The social worker paused again. "Listen, Jess, why don't you come by my office and I'll give you an update on Liam there."

Jess was surprised Sharon was so easygoing about this. "Okay, great. Can I come by in a half hour?"

"That will be fine. See you then."

"Thanks, bye."

Jess disconnected and went underground to catch the subway.

Thirty minutes later she arrived at the group home. She entered through the front door and had to be buzzed in. She asked the secretary to tell Sharon she was here. The social worker appeared a few minutes later.

"Jess, what a nice surprise."

The teen put on her best poker face and went with it. "Thanks, I hope I'm not catching you at a bad time."

"Not at all. Please, come to my office."

Sharon led Jess through a series of hallways. The kid realized how unethical her request was. She didn't want Sharon to get in trouble so she understood why there was some secrecy and deception at the front door. Jess had only been at the group home for a couple of hours before Olivia, Alex and Elliot had come to get her. She hadn't felt that alone or abandoned since her mom had died. She could only imagine what Liam was going through. "How is he?"

"Jess, you know I can't discuss his case with you."

"I know, but hypothetically if you had a four-year-old here how might he be getting along?"

They stopped at an open door. Sharon walked through first and Jess followed her. They were in a small room with a huge window. The window looked into a large playroom where many children were playing. Jess realized she could see into the room but the kids couldn't see her; it was like the interrogation rooms at the squad. She scanned the room.

"Do you have any idea how many rules I'm breaking?"

"I know." Jess said slowly. "I'm sorry. I just…need…" She spotted the little boy. He and a little girl were playing with large blocks. Tears filled her eyes. Jess put a palm up to the glass and rested it there. "Liam." She said so quietly Sharon almost didn't hear her. Tears ran down Jess's cheeks.

Sharon was about to say something when she heard footsteps. Jess heard them too. They were all too familiar. The steps became louder and Jess's heart raced and the tears were getting the better of her. When the footsteps finally stopped the person was standing beside Jess. Sharon nodded and left the room. Silence.

"What did we say about this?"

"That I couldn't come here. That I couldn't seem Liam." Jess said transfixed on the little boy.

"Why did we tell you not to see him?"

"'Cause it would be too hard. He…wouldn't understand…I wouldn't…be…able…to…say…goodbye." Jess started to stutter as her emotions got the better of her.

"We told you to forget about him. We told you to let this go. Why didn't you?"

Jess finally turned and looked up at the blue eyes that had been staring at her. "I don't know how." She sobbed and threw her arms around Alex.

The blonde held her daughter. Jess shut her eyes and wailed. Alex had never heard her cry like that before. She had never heard that type of pain come from her daughter. _This__was__serious_. Anger and frustration left Alex and she started to sway slightly as she held Jess. "We can help you with this but you have to talk to us."

Jess continued to sob. She had only lasted a few hours in the group home. Liam was a little boy who deserved so much more. _Why__her?__Why__was__she__so__lucky__and__he__wasn__'__t?__If__she__could__trade__places__with__him__she__would_. She cried for the little boy, the injustice and for herself. It was something she rarely did but being back at the group home brought back all the memories of having to leave Olivia that day and come here.

"We tried to scare you into dropping this. Maybe that was a mistake. Maybe we should have talked to you, listened to you and tried to understand you. When you and Olivia start fighting like that no one can tell either of you anything. You need to stop fighting us so hard. Ask us for help."

The sobbing and strange noises stopped eventually. Jess shook as she tried to breath normally and regain her composure. "I know. It's hard. I'm use to doing things on my own. I'm not use to having someone there to ask for help. I forget, sometimes, how much you and Livie love me. Sometimes, too, I don't wanna bug you. I just want you to come home and not have to deal with problems."

Alex held Jess away from her slightly so she could look her in the eyes. "Your problems, questions, concerns, thoughts and feelings are things Liv and I want to come home and deal with. You're not bugging us by talking to us about this stuff." She sighed. "We spend a lot of time all day wondering about you, worrying about you, wishing you were with us. When we come home we want to hear from you."

"I get why you tried to scare me out of coming here." Jess pursed her lips. "You were right, both of you were right. I can't handle this. I'm not old enough, I'm not strong enough." She looked down and looked back at Liam. "It's too hard…" tears formed. "I can't…" she closed her eyes and looked back at Alex. "It's heartbreaking."

"Yes…it is. We wanted to save you from this. Can you imagine what it would have been like for Liam?"

"Yes…I can. I'm sorry I came here. I'm sorry I disobeyed you and Livie. It won't happen again."

"I have heard this from you before, _we_ have heard this promise from you before. I've had it with you and lying." Alex said it in a stern tone. "It isn't enough, anymore, that you say it won't happen again. Your word holds very little weight these days."

Jess nodded. "I know."

"Your lies over the last few months got you grounded. Now you're throwing your punishment aside and lying to Liv and me about your intentions with Liam."

"I'm going to make some changes in my life." Jess cleared her throat. "Once school starts in September I'm quitting Computer Crimes. I'm gonna go to school, go to therapy and go to band practice if you and Livie will let me." She bit her bottom lip. "A few really smart people have given me some really good advice lately and I think I'm finally gonna take it."

Alex tried to hide her smile but the corners of her lips gave her away. "I think that's a really smart decision. It does not, however, get you out of the boatload of trouble you're in right now. The three of us are going to sit down tonight and discuss what is happening and what is going to happen to you."

"You're gonna tell Livie about this?"

Alex shook her head. "No, you are. Have dinner with her and tell her about all of this. She needs to hear it from you. That's part of being her daughter."

Jess nodded. "Did you come from court?"

"Yes."

"I'm really sorry."

"I asked for a continuance."

"How did you know I would come here?"

"I saw that look in your eyes that day in the kitchen. I knew you were going to do whatever it took to see Liam. You thought you could handle it. You had convinced yourself of it. I called Sharon and told her that if you called asking about Liam to have you come here and to call me. I told her that I would deal with you."

"Being honest with you and Livie is part of my job as your daughter. Knowing your kid well enough to see what you saw in an expression is what makes you a good mother. You know that, right?"

Alex's grin got slightly wider. "Thank you."

"No, thank you." Jess said lovingly.

"You still have to apologize to Sharon and assure her this won't happen again."

"I will." Jess looked down and looked back up at Alex. "Can you give me a minute, please?"

The A.D.A. nodded and left the room. She walked halfway down the hall and thanked Sharon for the phone call.

Jess turned back to the window. She watched Liam play with the little girl. She cried softly and placed her palm back on the glass. "Mom, watch over him. He's just a baby." The two little kids started to laugh and Jess giggled through her tears. "Goodbye, Liam." She shut her eyes to the scene. She turned, opened them and left the room.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven: Making It Right**

**York Cemetery**

**Tuesday May 17th, 16:50 **

The detective hadn't been here in years. She hadn't felt the need or want. Something happened to her over the last year. _Her__daughter_. It wasn't necessarily that Olivia wanted her mother around, because she was never really the mothering kind. There had been times, though, when she had wished Serena had been able to see her with Jess. Or just see Jess in general.

Olivia stood in front of the gravestone. "Uh, hi…mom." She spoke quietly. "It's been awhile, I know. I'm sorry, I guess." She shook her head. "Or maybe not. I don't know." Olivia sighed. _What__am__I__doing__here?_

"I have a daughter. Her name is Jess and I adopted her after less than a year of fostering her." The detective put her hands in the pockets of her jeans. "She almost seventeen, which is perfect cause she spends more time mothering me than I do her." Olivia snickered. "It's not easy being a parent. I understand that now. I'm lucky to also have a girlfriend who loves my daughter and me. I can't imagine how hard it was for you…raising me on your own."

She narrowed her eyes. "It can be easy to give up. To turn to things to help you escape the responsibility. To escape the guilt that you're not enough. The guilt that you never will be. The guilt that you're fucking up your kid's life." She bit at her bottom lip. "I've been there. I have felt all those things and I never once gave into my demons. I never once put my little girl in a position where I couldn't be there for her. Where I chose my demons over her and gave up."

Olivia pulled her hands out of her pockets and crossed her arms. "How could you do that? How could you do that to me? I was a child!"

The detective looked up and sighed. She looked back at the headstone. "I cleaned up after you. I washed you. I made sure you got ready for work in the morning. Not once or twice but over and over and over…" Tears filled her eyes. "You taught me how to be a good mother by showing me everything a mother shouldn't do. I will never put my daughter through what you put me through."

She heard footsteps behind her. Olivia carefully wiped the tears from her eyes. She didn't want to worry Jess. When the teen reached her they were silent for a few minutes. Jess put her arm around her Mama. "Do you look like her?"

"Yes." Olivia put her hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"Do you sound like her?"

"No."

"Not even when you laugh?"

The detective ginned remembering the good times she and her mother had shared; and there were good times. She remembered her mother's laugh. "Maybe then."

"Despite your relationship do you love her?"

Olivia furrowed her brow. She had never discussed the strained relationship she and her mother had with Jess. "Yes."

"She loved you, too. I know she hurt you but she did love you. All mothers love their children."

"How can you say that after seeing what Liam's mother did to him?" Olivia said it quietly and with no emotion. Her daughter had to realize and accept the ugliness she had witnessed. It was part of the process of understanding the gravity of what happened, everyday, in that bullpen. She also, secretly, wanted to scare Jess into never becoming involved in SVU or the NYPD. Skimming the surface of what it takes and what the police go through every day was an important step in that.

It was the first time Olivia had brought up Liam since she and Alex had told Jess she couldn't see him again. "Liam's mother is sick. She has a lot of problems and needs help. She loves him but she loves herself more. Serena loved you, she just loved herself more." Jess nuzzled Olivia's side. "You love me more than you love yourself."

"Sometimes I don't think that's true." Tears came back to the detective's eyes.

Jess held her tighter. "The fact that you think that proves you love me more. Mothers who don't see it, don't think about it, don't realize they have problems are the ones whose children suffer. I don't suffer, Mama."

Olivia broke and tears fell down her cheeks. She kissed the top of Jess's head. "I love you, Jess. You are my little girl and I love you."

"I love you, too. I wanna take you out for dinner. I need to talk to you about some stuff."

"Oh, yeah. What kind of stuff?" Olivia chuckled as she wiped the tears away.

"Life stuff. Can we go to _our_ place and eat?"

The detective realized the seriousness of this life stuff by the tone of Jess's voice. "Sure, you wanna grab a slice back in the old neighborhood?"

Jess nodded.

They left the cemetery a few minutes later. Within twenty minutes they were at the pizza joint around the corner from Olivia's old apartment. Within thirty minutes Jess had told Olivia everything. For three minutes Olivia told her daughter off. Jess took it, knowing she deserved it. She knew she scared Olivia. Not just by what she had done or lied about but in general. Parts of Olivia loved having a daughter. The parts that didn't love it were scared. Terrified of all the things that could happen to Jess; all the ways she could be hurt, taken, maimed or emotionally scarred. The teen knew that these parts consumed her Mama sometimes. It's what made her act out, made her yell and made her think that scaring Jess out of things was the best way to handle certain situations. Alex was usually calmer. She was guilty of overanalyzing situations and sometimes lying to Jess in order to spare her ugliness. The A.D.A., for the most part, could usually be reasoned with and rarely acted her fear for Jess outwardly toward the teen.

When Olivia fell silent, mostly because Jess wasn't putting up any fight, the tiny brunette spoke. "I'm quitting Computer Crimes in September. I'm gonna go to school, do my homework, go to therapy and practice with the band if you and Allie will let me. I'm not ready for this. I'm not ready to grow up. You and Allie have afforded me that luxury and I'm not going to pass it up. It's something I wouldn't have had if the two of you hadn't taken me in. I know my word means nothing to you anymore but I'm gonna work to change that. I want your trust back. I'm not going to lie anymore. I'm gonna talk to you and Allie if I need help or don't know what to do about something. Will you please give me the chance to prove myself to you?"

Olivia didn't know what to say. She was hard on Jess. She really didn't know how else to be. The detective yelled at her when she was angry. Her daughter yelled back. They were both very hotheaded. The yelling was mostly out of fear. Olivia worried about losing Jess all the time. She didn't know what she would do if something happened to her. Their relationship was very real and emotional. It had been based on safety, comfort and love. Fear had crept in, on both sides, mostly because neither could bear losing the other. "I will absolutely give you the chance. Jessie, I will never give up on you. I am really angry with you, but I love you." She narrowed her eyes. "You know that, right?"

She nodded.

"No, I'm serious." Olivia extended her hand and Jess took it. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. It's just…I want to protect you. I want you to be safe. And then I find out you're clubbing while I'm investigating the club owner for drugs and prostitution of minors. I ask you to stay away from a victim and you lie to me and go see him. I ask you how you know some girl you get in a fight with on the street and you lie and say you know her from school." She sighed. "My job, as your Mama, is to protect you and keep you safe. I can't do that if you lie to me every time I turn around. You scare me. Not just with the lies, or being kidnapped in a club and held at gunpoint, or fighting with someone in the street. I mean on a daily basis you scare me. I worry about where you are, how you're doing, if you're getting your homework done, how your therapy went. It's not your fault but I've never had to worry like this before. I know I can overreact sometimes and I'm sorry about that. If I ever lost you…I wouldn't recover. I love you…"

"More than you love yourself." Jess grinned through her tears.

Olivia squeezed her hand gently and nodded.

"I realized today how lucky I am. I could still be there, you know? At that group home. Or I could have been placed with a horrible foster family."

The detective nodded knowing where this was headed.

Jess withdrew her hand and looked at the table. "You know what happens to the minors you encounter when they have no one to take them."

It came out more as a statement than a question but Olivia answered anyway. "Yes."

The teen played with her fingers and didn't look at Olivia. "How do you…deal with that?"

"Look at me." Olivia said softly. Jess looked up at the deep brown eyes. "I try not to think about them. I know that's careless and heartless but it's the truth. When we have underage victims that have to be placed in foster care it's a double-edged sword. On the one hand we got them out of a very damaging situation. On the other, sometimes what they are subjected to in foster care isn't much better. Sometimes it's great and the victims do really well. Far better than if we hadn't intervened and got them out of the abusive situation they were in." She shook her head. "Sometimes, it's not better. There is nothing we can do about it. We are detectives and once our part is done we hand off the victims to the DCFS. They try their best, too. Sometimes, it's just not enough. Everyone knows it, but there is no solution."

"Before me, did you ever wanna foster victims you met?"

Olivia was honest. "Yes, but I didn't."

"Why?"

"It was against policy. I knew I couldn't take care of them properly. It didn't feel right. I wanted to help them but it just didn't feel right."

"And with me?"

"It was against policy, I really wasn't sure I could take care of you properly but it felt more right than anything else I had ever felt. So I fought for you."

Jess grinned. "For us."

Olivia's crooked smiled appeared. "For us."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Kid."

"We both need to change a little. We both need to listen to each other more and worry less. I think it'll be better now."

"I agree. That doesn't mean Al and I aren't going to discuss your further punishment with regards to today's field trip."

Jess sunk slightly into the booth. "Noted."

**Manhattan's SVU Squad Room**

**Wednesday May 18th, 18:15**

Abbie Carmichael had finally made it to Manhattan. She and Munch had toured their bar and were now in the squad room arguing. The detectives, their Captain, A.D.A. and Jess looked on.

"John, that's the worst name I've hear." Abbie shook her head as she sat back in a chair.

"Fine, let's hear your suggestions."

"I have a better idea." Jess stood up. "Why don't we all write a suggestion down on a piece of paper and we'll throw them in a hat. It's totally anonymous and maybe the names will be better than what you two have come up with."

Munch and Abbie looked at each other. "Fine." They said in unison.

Everyone wrote a suggestion down and into a hat they went. One by one they were pulled out and scrutinized.

"Trial and Jury." Abbie cut Alex a sideways look.

"You can't prove that was mine." Alex met her stare.

"Blondie, it's got you written all over it. We're not naming the bar that."

Munch pulled another piece of paper out of the hat. "Cuffs and Shackles."

Everyone looked at Elliot.

He narrowed his eyes. "You can't prove that was mine!"

"It sounds like an S and M club! That's totally yours." Jess pointed to him.

Elliot sat back and smiled. "Whatever."

Abbie pulled the next one. "Law and Order." She shot a look at her niece. "I expected more from you."

Jess gestured. "That wasn't mine!"

"Either way, I think Dick Wolf and NBC Universal…"

"Soon to be Comcast…" Jess uttered

"Would have a problem with that one. Not that it was your suggestion." Abbie finished.

Jess held out her hands, palms up.

Munch pulled another suggestion out of the hat. "The Bullpen." He looked at the Captain. "Nice try."

"We're trying not to draw a strictly cop patronage." Abbie said as she pulled another piece of paper. "Capital Case." She smiled. "Who's was this?"

Munch looked at his partner. "Fin?"

"I thought this was supposed to be anonymous?"

"I like it." Abbie said still smiling. She pulled another suggestion. "The Devil's Sin." She looked between Olivia and Jess. "Which one of you wrote this?"

The pair looked at each other and then back at Abbie. They both had half smiles on their lips. "What would make you think it was one of us?" Olivia asked.

"You both have that same twisted side. Now, which one was it?"

"Does it really matter? Look, it really isn't that hard. Pick one you and Munch can live with and lets all move on." Jess grinned.

"You think it's that easy?" Munch complained.

"Yes! It took me less time to name my kitten!" Jess stood in frustration.

Abbie smiled. "What did you name him?"

Jess grinned. "Oz."

"As in, The Wizard of…" Cragen asked.

"Sure, we'll go with that." She sat down.

"I'm not buying that." Fin said staring hard at the teenager. "What does Oz mean?"

"It's short for Oswald."

"And…" Elliot pressed.

Jess sighed. "There was an HBO show called Oz back in the day. It was really groundbreaking at the time."

"Jesus Christ, the show about the fictional maximum security men's prison?" Elliot sat forward in his chair.

"Yeah, that's it." Jess said matter-of-factly trying to ignore the obvious distaste in Elliot's voice. "A character came in during the second season. He was played by a really hot actor. I didn't like the character but the actor was gorgeous."

Abbie smiled. "I know who you mean. You see his…" she stopped herself, slightly embarrassed.

Jess grinned. "Yeah ya do…"

Olivia looked hard at her daughter. "You named the kitten after a fictional men's maximum security prison because you saw a hot actor's penis?"

"It was a groundbreaking show." Jess countered with her brow raised.

"Now that's twisted." Fin said, sitting back.

"Change its name. And how did you even see this show?" Alex asked.

"I own the show on DVD, and I'm not changing Oz's name."

"You really think it's appropriate?" Olivia asked with wide eyes.

"Jaylyn named her dog Dexter after the factious serial killer in the Showtime show. How is Oz any less appropriate?"

"Wow." Munch said.

"How can you argue with that logic?" Cragen asked. He liked Jess, a lot. She brought normalcy to the squad room and the people that worked there. He cared about her.

Alex and Olivia looked at each other. "You can't." They said in unison.

**Residence of A.D.A. Cabot, Detective Benson and Jess O'Malley**

**Wednesday May 18th, 20:23**

The women arrived home after dinner. Abbie, Alex and Olivia were going out for a drink around the corner but wanted to drop the car and Jess off at home first. Abbie looked at Jess. "So, I hear you can dance."

She looked down at the floor of the lobby. "Yeah, I guess."

"Actually, I heard you and Richard are unbelievable."

"I guess."

Abbie looked at Olivia and Alex. "I don't believe your Mamas. I don't think you two are that good."

The teen looked up at her aunt. "You better believe it. We were God's in the club…" she stopped when she felt her mama's eyes on her.

"Sooo…when do I get to see these God's in action?"

"We've been officially retired." Jess said finally meeting Alex and Olivia's eyes.

The Texan looked at Jess. "We're having everyone to the bar on Saturday night for a soft open. I want you and Richard to dance."

Jess looked at her. "We can't. We're both grounded and are forbidden to see each other."

Alex looked at her. "If your punishment was lifted for one night would you and Richard dance?"

The teen looked between the women raising her. "Sure." She looked at Abbie. "What song?"

"Well, that's what makes this interesting. I get to pick the song and you two will have fifteen minutes to put something together."

Jess grinned. "We won't need fifteen minutes. We'll drop it right there."

Abbie raised a brow. "Pretty cocky, don't you think?"

"Nope. We're just that good."

**02:15**

The women arrived home and were elegantly wasted. They said goodnight to each other at the door. Olivia and Alex went to their room and Abbie went to the living room. She found a light on and a tiny teenager asleep on the couch. Jess had fallen asleep with her biology text and note books open. Abbie pulled a blanket off the back of the couch and placed it over her niece. The dark-haired A.D.A. poured herself a nightcap from the small bar that was off to the side of the living room. She turned the light off and sat in the oversized chair. Moonlight lit the room. Silence. Abbie smiled sweetly at the girl sleeping in a tank-top and cotton pants. She looked so young, so innocent. The Texan sipped at the amber liquor. Jess's right shoulder, arm and hand were exposed. The moonlight caught them. The dark tattoo stood out. 'O'Malley.' Abbie took another sip and thought about this.

There were other note books on the coffee table. She scooped one up and grabbed a pencil. She turned to the last page of the note book and started to sketch. Twenty minutes later she stood and walked to the kitchen. Abbie turned on the light, set the note book down and took a picture of the sketch with her BlackBerry. She emailed the picture to Munch with the caption, 'what do you think?'

She shut the light off and took the drink to the spare bedroom. Abbie changed into her pajamas, finished her drink and got into bed. Her cell chirped. She looked at the message. 'I love it. Send the sketch to the sign guy.' It was the only thing the pair had agreed on since going into business together.

**Thursday May 19th, 12:32**

Around the corner from the precinct Abbie, Alex, Casey and Olivia met for lunch. The Texan looked between Alex and Olivia. "Have you talked to Elliot and Kathy about letting Richard come and dance at the bar on Saturday?"

Olivia and Alex looked at each other and then back at their friend. "No." they said in unison.

"Damnit, call him right now and talk to him."

"I'll see him in an hour when I go back to the station house."

"Call him now. If he puts up a fight I'll talk to him."

The detective's eyes widened but she pulled out her cell and called her partner.

Elliot picked up the phone on his desk. "Stabler, Special Victims."

"Hey, it's me. I have a question…from Abbie."

"Uh-huh…"

"Well," Olivia cleared her throat trying to delay the question. "she wants Jess and Richard to dance at the bar on Saturday."

"And…"

"And will you let him come to the bar to dance?"

"No!" He stopped his paperwork and concentrated on the conversation.

"Why?"

"He's grounded…for lying and _dancing_ in a club!"

"Yeah, I know. But this is a one-off thing."

"Wait…are you letting Jess go on Saturday?"

"Yeah, her band is auditioning that night."

"You and Cabot are REALLY bad at this whole punishment thing."

"How can you say that?" she was starting to lose her patience with him.

"If Jess is grounded why are you letting her go to the bar?"

"I just told you, her band is auditioning."

"So?"

"So…she worked really hard to get to a point where she could audition. I'm not going to punish her and take that away."

"Olivia, she's grounded…she IS supposed to be punished."

"Look, they are two separate issues."

"_It__'__s__the__same__thing_. PLUS, you want her to _dance_ at the bar!" He gestured to no one but Munch and Fin where enjoying the show. "She's being grounded, for amongst other things, _dancing_!"

Olivia's eyes widened as she lost it. "Agree to disagree!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

They both hung up. Olivia sat back as the women looked at her. "I don't think Richard will be able to make it on Saturday." She turned to her girlfriend. "And apparently we are terrible at this whole punishment thing."

"Says who?" Casey asked.

"Elliot." Olivia answered as she sipped at her drink.

"Abbie shook her head. "What does he know? I'll talk to him and make sure Richard is there on Saturday night."

The women looked around the table at each other. They couldn't wait to see the showdown between Stabler and Carmichael.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve: O'Malley**

**Saturday May 21st, 20:10 – O'Malley soft open**

Abbie Carmichael and John Munch stood in front of a large group of people and grinned. "Welcome to the opening of O'Malley." Munch said.

"Starting next Saturday O'Malley will be open to the public seven nights a week. We will have a house band every Friday and Saturday night. There are three bands auditioning tonight for the honours. John and I would like to introduce our Executive Chef, Rob Drayton." Abbie said and started to clap.

Everyone else clapped as Drayton stood up and nodded. He sat down and Abbie continued. "We'd also like to thank our dear friend Jess, whom this place is named after." Abbie and John looked at Jess with matching grins. "Jessie, it's the only decision we didn't argue about."

Laughter broke out amongst the guests. Munch and Abbie raised the glasses in their hands. "Thanks to all of you for coming out tonight to celebrate the opening of O'Malley. Cheers." Munch said and clinked glasses with Abbie.

The jukebox played a few songs before John and Abbie were able to get to the large table that sat all of the Stablers, minus Eli who was with an aunt and uncle for the night. It also sat Olivia, Alex, Jess, Tony, Fin, Ken, Cragen, Casey and Dillon. Jess smiled at her Aunt Abbie and John Munch. "I still can't believe you named the bar O'Malley."

"It was Abbie that came up with the idea and the logo. Once I saw it I knew it's exactly what we should call our bar."

"Why? I mean…why?" Jess asked with an inquisitive look on her face as she looked at her Aunt.

Abbie grinned and shrugged. "I saw the tattoo of your last name on your arm. It just seemed…right."

Jess blushed.

"Are you two ready for my challenge?" Abbie asked looking between Jess and Richard.

The teens looked at each other and then back at Abbie. "Yup." They said in unison.

They were both wearing lose fitting jeans and sneakers. Richard was wearing a white t-shirt and Jess was wearing a white tank-top. The young woman pulled out her iPhone and handed it to Abbie. The tall dark-haired woman thumbed through the music and settled on a song. "The song is Born This Way by Lady Gaga, is that okay?"

"Sure."

"It's fine."

Jess looked at her Aunt. "Do you want us to Bonnie and Clyde?"

The rest of the table was silent as the exchange took place. Abbie shook her head. "I don't know, I don't know what that means. Do I want you to Bonnie and Clyde?"

Richard grinned. "Bonnie and Clyde means we try and 'one up' each other on the dance floor. We don't really dance together as a pair. Jess will do a couple of moves then she'll stop, I'll jump in and do a couple of moves that are better than hers and so on."

"Which is harder, Bonnie and Clyde or dancing together?" John asked.

"Neither." Jess said. "We can do both."

"Really well." Richard added.

Abbie grinned. "Both. I want you to do both."

Richard and Jess smiled at each other and nodded.

"We have a treat for everyone before auditions for the band begins." Abbie said in the microphone on stage. My good friends Jess and Richard are going to show us how it's done on the dance floor these days. I picked the song a minute ago so they have had no rehearsal time. Please give a warm welcome to Jess and Richard." Abbie clapped and so did everyone else in the bar.

Jess and Richard made their way to the dance floor and stood in the center. The song came on over the sound system. The bass thumped.

Born This Way made famous by Lady GAGA:

Jess started out doing her own moves while Richard stood slightly off to the side

_(It doesn't matter if you love him,  
>Or capital H-I-M<br>Just put your paws up  
>'cause you were born this way, baby)<em>

Richard moved closer to Jess and then moved closer to the center of the dance floor where he showed off some of his moves while Jess stayed off to the side.

_(My mama told me when I was young  
>We are all born superstars<em>

_She rolled my hair and put my lipstick on  
>In the glass of her boudoir<em>

_"there's nothin wrong with lovin who you are"  
>She said, "'cause he made you perfect, babe"<em>

Jess moved closer to Richard

_"so hold your head up girl and you'll go far,  
>Listen to me when I say")<em>

Richard had moved closer to Jess and now the pair started to move in sync with one another. For the rest of the song they danced together. They matched each other's moves perfectly.

_(I'm beautiful in my way  
>'cause god makes no mistakes<br>I'm on the right track baby  
>I was born this way<em>

_Don't hide yourself in regret  
>Just love yourself and you're set<br>I'm on the right track baby  
>I was born this way)<em>

The pair made their way, in sync, across the dance floor and to the bar. People moved out of the way and let them through. The teens jumped from the floor onto bar stools and then onto the bar as they continued to dance to the beat.

_(Ooo there ain't no other way  
>Baby I was born this way<br>Baby I was born this way  
>Ooo there ain't no other way<br>Baby I was born-  
>I'm on the right track baby<br>I was born this way)_

__The song continued and the pair fed off the crowd. They were both on the bar and were now on their right hands with their feet in the air. They bounded on their hand and made their legs contort in the same way.

_(Don't be a drag, just be a queen  
>Whether you're broke or evergreen<br>You're black, white, beige, chola descent  
>You're Lebanese, you're orient<br>Whether life's disabilities  
>Left you outcast, bullied, or teased<br>Rejoice and love yourself today  
>'cause baby you were born this way<em>

_No matter gay, straight, or bi,  
>Lesbian, transgendered life<br>I'm on the right track baby  
>I was born to survive<br>No matter black, white or beige  
>Chola or orient made<br>I'm on the right track baby  
>I was born to be brave)<em>

Simultaneously they put their left hand down and bounced twice on both hands before pushing themselves up so hard that they flipped on their feet again. The pair danced on the bar for another 20 seconds and then they flipped off the bar, rotating a full 360 degrees and landing on their feet on the floor. As the song started to end the pair did a break down.

_(I was born this way hey!  
>I was born this way hey!<br>I'm on the right track baby  
>I was born this way hey!)<em>

They held each other's arms in a strange way, jumped and pulled each other. The teens were able to flip over each other and land on their feet.

(I was born this way hey!  
>I was born this way hey!<br>I'm on the right track baby  
>I was born this way hey!)<p>

The bar erupted in cheers as the music stopped. The teens were left in the middle of the dance floor. Out of breath Jess and Richard hugged. "I'm gonna miss that."

Tears found their way to Jess's eyes. "Me, too."

They let go of each other and were shocked to see and hear people still clapping for them. Abbie got back on the microphone. "Richard and Jess everyone."

Jess and Richard were forced to sit apart at the table. When they returned after dancing it was no different. Their punishment was still in effect. No one knew what Abbie said to Elliot but after they spoke he had allowed his son to come to the opening of O'Malley. The deal was he could dance and watch Jess's band audition and then he had to go home.

Abbie announced the first band to audition. Each band got to perform two songs. Jess left the table and went back stage. Her band was the second to go out that night. She was singing two songs and playing guitar for one of them. Jess changed into darker blue boot-cut jeans, a black leather studded belt and a black lacy tank-top. She swapped out her white DC's for black ones with green trim. Her band setup and did their first song, for which Jess sang and played guitar. For their second song the teen shed the guitar and stood in front of the microphone. The bar was jumping. Almost everyone had crowded on the dance floor and bar to see and hear.

**Love In The Big Town**: Written by C. Ward & D. Tyson. Made famous by Alannah Myles.

The band started to play and Jess sang:

_This is the place where nobody comes from  
>Perfect strangers in this desert town<br>Just out of flame and looking for favours  
>Hungry players when the deals go down<em>

_You get a hollow heart from shallow breathing  
>And a see-through smile like the ones on T.V.<br>This is the land of thrills and money where you  
>Hit the edge and you drift out to sea<em>

_It seems so real, looks so good  
>But you'd give it all up and you'd start again if you thought you could<br>And it sounds so sweet, feels so right  
>But it leaves you cold in the middle of the night<em>

_Step right up, lay your money down  
>If you're looking to buy love in the big town<br>Lift you up, tear you down  
>Leave you begging for more love in the big town<em>

_Down in the street with the waiters and mystics  
>When you got faith in nothing, you just fantasize<br>You look for a flame but you'd fall for a flicker  
>In those angel faces and those cowboy eyes<em>

_They seem so real and they look so good  
>And with a bit of persuasion you really believe you know you could<br>Tastes so sweet, feels so right  
>But it leaves you cold in the heart of the night<em>

_Chorus:  
>Step right up, (lay your) money down<br>If you're looking to find love in the big town  
>Lift you up, tear you down<br>They'll leave you begging for more love in the big town_

_Oh you learn to use all your desperation  
>Till it works its way into your soul<br>Then you find out that you slowly lose control_

_chorus repeats 2x..._

_This is the place where nobody comes from  
>Perfect strangers in this desert town<br>Just out of flame and looking for favours  
>Hungry players when the deals go down<br>_

Jess started to sway and play to the crowd.

_You get a hollow heart from shallow breathing  
>And a see-through smile like the ones on T.V.<br>This is the land of thrills and money where you  
>Hit the edge and you drift out to sea<em>

_It seems so real, looks so good  
>But you'd give it all up and you'd start again if you thought you could<em>

She took the mic off the stand and set the stand aside.

_And it sounds so sweet, feels so right  
>But it leaves you cold in the middle of the night<em>

Jess played to the audience. __

_Step right up, lay your money down_

Jess stepped up closer to the front of the stage

_If you're looking to buy love in the big town  
>Lift you up, tear you down<br>Leave you begging for more love in the big town_

Jess winked at Richard.__

_Down in the street with the waiters and mystics  
>When you got faith in nothing, you just fantasize<br>You look for a flame but you'd fall for a flicker  
>In those angel faces and those cowboy eyes<em>

Her expressions and emotions had the crowd mesmerized as she sang. __

_They seem so real and they look so good  
>And with a bit of persuasion you really believe you know you could<br>Tastes so sweet, feels so right  
>But it leaves you cold in the heart of the night<em>

_Chorus:  
>Step right up, (lay your) money down<br>If you're looking to find love in the big town_

Jess winked at Olivia and Alex as she played to the audience.

_Lift you up, tear you down  
>They'll leave you begging for more love in the big town<em>

_Oh you learn to use all your desperation  
>Till it works its way into your soul<br>Then you find out that you slowly lose control  
><em>  
>Jess repeated the chorus twice and grinned once the song had ended and the band stopped playing. The people in the bar erupted with cheers. Jess introduced the band members and they all took a small bow. Then they dismantled their equipment so the next band could set up.<p>

Richard was able to hug her and tell his girlfriend how proud he was of her before his parents told him he had to leave the bar and go home. Jess was allowed to stay for the last band audition and then she too was put in a cab and told to go home.

The soft open of O'Malley went off without a hitch. The next day Abbie and John discussed which band they were going to hire. In the end they couldn't agree, like most of the decisions regarding their bar. They chose to hire two of the three bands that had auditioned the night before; the first one and the second one; Jess's band.

**Residence of A.D.A. Abbie Carmichael **

**Washington, D.C.**

**Wednesday May 25th, 01:55**

Jess woke up in a cold sweat. She sat straight up and wide-eyed. She breathed deeply as she tried to calm herself. She realized she wasn't in her own bedroom. Jess sighed and remembered she had gone back to D.C. with her Aunt Abbie last Sunday. The teen was enjoying her time in Washington with her Aunt. Abbie was showing her a really good time. More importantly, the Texan was teaching her how to slow-cook bbq ribs in the morning. Jess smiled at the thought and lay back down. She tried to calm herself and fall back to sleep. Five minutes later she was still up. Every time she closed her eyes she heard the gun go off and felt Carlos Ramirez fall forward.

Jess didn't want to call Olivia or Alex because it was the first time the pair had let her come to D.C. and spend time with Abbie. Plus, they had let her come despite the fact that she was being punished. She didn't want to blow that by calling them because she had a nightmare. The teen grabbed her iPhone off the bedside table and starting texting. There was one person that might be up that could answer her question.

**New York Times Building**

**New York, New York**

Casey Novak thought this story was in the can; it should have been. She had written it and submitted it to her editor earlier that day. Late in the afternoon new information had come her way about the story. She asked her editor to pull the story and let her re-write it. He agreed and pulled it from the printers. She had until 4AM to get the story re-written and to the printers in order to make the morning paper. When her cell vibrated she thought about ignoring it. She was sure it was her editor and didn't want to be disturbed. The problem was if she didn't text him back he would call and she _really_ didn't want that. She picked up the phone and glanced at it. The text wasn't from her editor. It was from Jess. She texted back.

"Yes, I'm up. Why are you?"

Within two minutes the teenager texted back. "Had a nightmare. Can't get back to sleep. How well do you know my Aunt Abbie?"

This got Casey's attention. She stopped reading and taking notes and focused totally on the texting. "Sorry you had a nightmare. I know Abbie pretty well. Why?"

"I wanna know if she'll freak out if I go and lay in her bed. So, will she?"

"Probably not."

"Will she make a thing about it in the morning?"

"Probably not."

"Will she tell Livie and Allie?"

"Definitely not. U 2 have your own relationship, much like u & I do. She'll be cool."

"Thanks Cass. Why r u up?"

"Deadline for the morning edition."

"Sorry. Good luck. See ya when I get back."

"Thanks. Try & get some sleep."

"Will do. Thanks for everything."

"np"

**Washington, D.C.**

Jess got out of bed, grabbed a pillow and walked barefoot to her Aunt's room. She watched Abbie for a minute before she entered the room. The dark-haired woman was lying almost in the middle of the bed, on her side, facing the doorway. Jess thought she looked very peaceful. The teen walked silently into the room and to the far side of the bed. Abbie had a king sized bed. Although she was sleeping in the middle of it there was room for Jess to slip in under the covers and have room to lie on her stomach, which she did. She set her phone on the bedside table and closed her eyes. Jess listened to her Aunt quietly snore. To someone else the noise might have been irritating. To Jess it was a distraction and something that had an even tempo.

**03:12 **

Abbie's bladder woke up. She stretched a little and rolled over onto her back. Something was in the way so she turned over awkwardly. _Jess?_ She couldn't see her niece's face because her head was turned the other way. The teenager was sleeping on her stomach. Abbie thought about waking her and asking what was going on. She decided to go to the bathroom and think about it. She took her cell phone with her. She set it on the counter. She didn't want to call Olivia and Alex because she didn't want to bother them. The Texan also knew they would never trust her with their daughter again. She flushed the toilet, washed her hands and dialed a familiar number.

The shrill noise of her cell phone ringing startled Casey. She grinned when she saw the caller I.D. "Good morning, Abbie."

"What are you doing up?" Abbie whispered. Even from behind the bathroom door of the ensuite bathroom she didn't want to be too loud and wake Jess up.

"Working to a 4AM deadline. What are you doing up?"

The tone Casey used at the end of the sentence led Abbie to believe she knew something was up. "I had a quick question and then I'll let you go. Uh…is it normal for a teenager to crawl into bed with a woman who is older than them?"

"You managed to make that sound so creepy." Casey said in a slightly annoyed tone.

"What do you want from me? Is it normal or not?" Abbie hastily whispered.

"Trouble in parenthood?" Casey joked as her tone became lighter.

"Could you stop being a red-head for ten seconds and help me with this?" Abbie said louder than she had intended. She opened the bathroom door and peered out to see if she had woken Jess.

"Okay, alright." Casey said in a more serious tone. "Jess had a nightmare. She gets them sometimes. She crawls into bed with Liv and Al and sleeps at the foot of their bed sometimes. It's not a big deal and is normal for her."

Abbie closed the door. "Oh, thank God. I mean, not that she had a nightmare but just that it's normal…her sleeping here is normal."

"Yes, it's normal. Calm down. You're doing great. Jess is having a good time with you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, she texts me every day and says so."

"She texted you tonight, didn't she?"

"Yup."

"What did she say?"

"Just that she had a nightmare and couldn't get back to sleep. She wanted to know if you would freak out if she slept in your bed. I told her you wouldn't, so don't. I also promised her you wouldn't make this a thing in the morning, so don't."

"Anything else, Red?"

"No, that's pretty much it."

"Hey, why did she text you?"

"For the same reason _you__'__re_ calling me."

"Thanks, Case. Seriously, thanks."

Casey smiled. "You're welcome. Night Abs.

"Night, Case. Good luck with the deadline."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen: The Happiest Place On Earth**

**Thursday May 26th, 21:47**

Olivia chased Alex out of their bedroom, down the hall and through the living room. The A.D.A. squealed with anticipation as her detective tackled her on the couch. "And you thought you'd get away…"

"Hahahahaha…I tried. I thought I could outrun you."

"I am a trained police detective…"

"Who has seven years on me…" Alex interrupted.

"And who you still can't outrun or outwrestle." Olivia pinned her girlfriend to the couch and kissed her.

"I give…I give…" Alex panted through her laughter.

"That's what I thought." Olivia smirked and sat up, straddling Alex.

The kitten ran out from somewhere and sprang onto the couch. Neither woman moved. He walked along the couch and up onto Alex. He sat on her chest and licked her nose. "Gross, Oz!"

"He likes you." Olivia laughed.

"That's what Jess says." Oz lay down on Alex chest and started purring. "Oh, no. Get him off of me."

"When are you going to accept the fact that that Oz is here to stay?" Olivia smiled.

Alex petted Oz gingerly. "When Jess is here for more than two weeks to take care of him." Alex said in a sarcastic tone.

"Uh, I believe _we_ decided she should go back to D.C. with Abbie for the week."

"_We_ did but that doesn't mean I have to accept this kitten anytime soon."

"Why don't you like him?" Olivia asked inquisitively.

"I never had a pet growing up and I've never had one as an adult. Living with you and Jess has been the longest I have ever lived any other way but on my own. I just don't really understand the point of taking a pet on." Alex continued to pet Oz.

"You form a bond and they become part of the family. I think it's nice. In a lot of ways I can understand why Jess had an instant connection with the kitten. I mean she was an orphan when we met her and so was Oz. Now they both have a family."

Alex smiled and looked at the kitten. "And so do we."

"Yes, we do." Olivia's crooked grin graced her lips. "You miss Jess, don't you?"

"Of course I do." Alex scratched behind Oz's ears the way she had seen Olivia and Jess do many times before. She looked up at her girlfriend. "I have to admit though _this_ has been nice."

"Yes, it has." Olivia kissed Alex.

"Hot tub?"

The detective nodded and stood. As if the kitten knew his time was up Oz jumped off Alex and onto the floor. Olivia held out her hand and Alex took it. The pair walked naked out to the terrace and into the hot tub. For twenty minutes they relaxed. Olivia sat between Alex legs and the A.D.A. wrapped her arms around her detective. They talked about their future as a couple.

Olivia finally turned around and straddled the blonde. She put her arms around Alex's neck and kissed her deeply. The A.D.A. slid her hand between herself and Olivia. She slid it down and started to play with her girlfriend's clit.

"Uhhhhh…" Olivia moaned and broke the kiss. She licked the tension cord on the side of Alex's neck as her lover continued to play with her. The longer Alex played with her the hotter Olivia got, literally she was sweating. "Bedroom, now." She pushed herself off her girlfriend and started to get out of the hot tub.

"That was quick." Alex said with a smirk.

Olivia turned around as she got out of the water and grinned. "If you play your cards right it will be slow and steady once I cool off."

"You better run, Detective."

The brunette took off and opened one of the French doors that led into the living room. Alex was right behind her and threw the door shut as she flew through it. The blonde reached out and grabbed Olivia around the waist. She yanked her back forcing Olivia to stop.

"Noooo…." The detective laughed.

"Ohhhh yeeaahhh…" Alex giggled as she struggled to keep her girlfriend in her grasp. The A.D.A. wrestled Olivia to the floor. "Turn over."

Olivia did as she was told but once she was looking up at her girlfriend she grinned and forced herself up, knocking Alex off balance.

"Oh, no, you don't." The blonde said as she laughed and grabbed Olivia's arms.

The brunette pushed against the weight of her girlfriend. "Oh, yes...yes I do." She grinned. The pair wrestled for dominance, but mostly for fun.

Alex finally put her knee between Olivia's legs and pushed it against her sex.

"I'm not that easy…" The detective panted slightly as the sensation washed over her. She pushed her knee up and it came into contact with Alex sex. Olivia pushed her knee upward more, forcing Alex to slide down her leg.

"Ahhhhh…" Alex exhaled as she left a small wet trail down Olivia's leg.

Their eyes met and the pair kissed. They reached down and started to play with each other's clits. As the playing intensified the kiss broke and they concentrated on the other one. Olivia pushed a finger inside the blonde's sex. Alex returned the favor and then some by sliding two fingers inside her girlfriend. A rhythm began and Olivia pushed a second finger in.

"More…I…want…more…" Alex panted spreading her legs further as she hovered above her lover.

Olivia slid a third finger inside the wet sex and curled her fingers.

"Yesssss…." Alex said as she pushed a third and fourth finger inside Olivia.

"Awwwww…fuck…me…" Olivia begged as she spread her thighs.

Their pace quickened the closer each woman got to paradise. They rocked against each other hard. Alex forced her fingers as far inside her lover as she could causing Olivia to squeal at the sensation. The detective found that tiny spot inside Alex's sex and hit it with her fingers with every stroke.

"I'm coming…don't…stop…" Alex said with labored breath.

"Uhhh…uhhhh…uhhhh…I'm soooo…close. Fuck…me…" Olivia panted.

It only took another thirty seconds for Alex to reach her climax. As she came for her girlfriend she wanted Olivia to feel the same pleasure. She pushed down hard on the detective's abdomen with her free hand. An undignified moan came from deep within Olivia as she withdrew her fingers from the . Alex withdrew her fingers and let the liquid ecstasy pour from her lover.

Alex giggled ever so slightly and started to get up. Olivia grabbed her when she felt her girlfriends weight shift. "Don't go."

The tall blonde smiled and lay on top of Olivia. She pushed two fingers into the brunette and felt her shudder underneath. Olivia held Alex for a few minutes while tremors continued inside her. Alex rolled off of Olivia a few minutes later. Still out of breath the pair lay on the living room floor.

"That's the last one, isn't it?" Olivia said still breathing heavily.

Alex's chest still rose and fell abnormally. "Yes, I believe that's it."

Olivia turned to her. "Can you believe it?"

"No." Alex turned and grinned. "I can't believe we christened every room in this place." She said in an embarrassed tone.

"You sound slightly upset about it." Olivia smiled.

Alex shook her head. "Not upset. I don't know…embarrassed maybe."

"Awwww…why?"

"We're two adults with a daughter and careers. All we've done since our daughter left for the week is eat take-out and each other."

Olivia threw her head back in laugher. "You say that like's it's a bad thing."

"Don't get me wrong, I've loved every minute. Isn't there just a small part of you that feels a little guilty about acting like…"

"A horny teenager." Olivia finished her sentence.

Alex nodded.

"Not at all." The brunette continued. "It's been strange but in a fun way. We could never live this way all the time but it's been nice having a stay-cation."

"Stay-cation?" Alex questioned.

"Yeah." Olivia leaned in and kissed her girlfriend. When the kiss ended she looked into the exquisite blue eyes. "It's a vacation when you stay at home."

Alex smiled. "I like that."

"I love Jess and our lives with her in it. But this," she leaned over and touched Alex's face with her fingers. "This I love, too."

"Maybe we should start to do this on a slightly more regular basis." Alex mused.

Olivia grinned. "I couldn't agree more. Now…can we take this into our bedroom?"

"Yes…Squirt, I'll race you there." Alex jumped up and took off. Olivia was slower on the draw but caught her girlfriend in the doorway of their bedroom. She grabbed her around the waist picked her up slightly and knocked her onto the bed. The pair fell together and laughed the whole time. They spent the rest of the night giving each other massages and talking. They fell asleep in each other's arms. 

**Sunday May 29th, 13:25**

The sun was bright and the air was moist. It was Orlando at the end of May. The adults, as they were known, had stuck together at Disney's Hollywood Studio's that day. The kids, minus Eli, had gone their own way once inside the park. Jess had texted Olivia to meet them at Hollywood Tower of Terror. The adults walked up to the ride and waited. They looked up and saw part of the building open. They heard the people on the ride scream and the opening shut.

Kathy looked at Elliot. "So, I'll stay with Eli while you go on the ride."

He cleared his throat. "No, no…you should have some fun while you're here. You go on the ride and I'll stay with him."

The blonde put her arms around her husband and kissed him. When the kiss ended she looked into his blue eyes. "You're scared, aren't you?"

Elliot grinned. "I'm not scared."

"Then go on the ride…" she mused.

"I think you should." He rubbed her back.

She pushed away from him. "Chicken shit!"

"I am not chicken!" He said slightly annoyed. "I'm an ex- Marine and current New York City detective. I put my life on the line every day. I carry a gun…"

Alex and Olivia, who had Eli between them looked at each other and smiled. The detective winked at her girlfriend and turned her attention to her partner and his wife. "El, it's a baby ride."

"It's not a baby ride!" he gestured to her.

A hoard of people came by them leaving the ride. Two kids under of age of seven walked by with their parents. Olivia smirked at him. "Baby…"

He rolled his eyes. "Fine…Christ."

Their own kids ran up to them. They were all talking at once. It was quickly decided that Olivia and Elliot would go on the ride with them. They all wanted to do it again. Alex and Kathy would stay with Eli, who was far too young for the ride.

Twenty minutes and two ice creams later Kathy, Alex and Eli wandered back to the ride. They were greeted within minutes by the rest of their crew. Everyone looked normal except Elliot, who looked slightly pale. The Aerosmith ride was beside the Tower of Terror. Kathy and the kids dragged Elliot on the ride. Olivia and Alex sat with Eli and entertained him.

When the Aerosmith ride let out Olivia and Alex watched their daughter come toward them. "Look at her." Alex said.

"A far cry from a year ago." Olivia said as she played with Eli on her lap.

"We all are." Alex leaned in and kissed her girlfriend.

As Jess walked toward her mamas to ask them to go back on the ride with her she saw them kiss. She knocked her shoulder into Elliot's side as they walked. "Think they'll make it this time?"

He put his arm around his quasi fourth daughter. "I have a good feeling about them this time. What do you think?"

"I think they've been to hell and back. They can't live without each other, so I think they'll do whatever it takes to stay together."

"You don't think love has anything to do with it?"

"I don't think they ever fell out of love. It takes a lot more than love to make a relationship work. I think they are finally getting the hang of it."

Elliot stopped walking and turned to Jess, forcing her to stop and look at him. "You know, you're pretty smart.

"I was born at night but not…"

"Last night." Elliot finished.

They grinned at each other.

The families had rented two houses, beside each other, in a gated community about fifteen minutes from Disney World. Both houses had lanais and pools. Given that Jess and Richard were still grounded the kids request to stay in the larger house the Stablers' had rented was denied. Everyone converged at the larger house for dinner. Elliot grilled hamburgers for everyone. The kids swam in the pool. Alex and Kathy got paper plates for everyone and Olivia grabbed herself and Elliot beers. She flipped the tops off both beers and handed her partner one. They turned and watched their kids. The partners clinked the bottles together and smiled.

Alex nudged Kathy and nodded towards Olivia and Elliot. "That's a rare sight."

The A.D.A. smiled. "I know. They see so much ugliness. Carry so much responsibility."

"So do you, Al. Don't sell yourself or what you do short."

"I won't. Thank you. I think we should try to do this more often."

Kathy looked from her husband to her kids playing in the pool. They had grown up so fast. Aside from Eli all of her kids were in University or already living on their own. _Where__had__the__time__gone?_ It was only now, with some perspective, that she realized life was short and the time when her kids were kids was unbelievably short. She looked back at Alex. "Yes, we really should."

**01:10**

Olivia sat by the pool under the lanai. She clipped the end off one of the two cigars she had. She lit it and sank back into the chair. The detective exhaled and smoke filled the air around her. Light emanated from the pool and dimly lit the area.

Elliot had been outside sipping on a beer. He watched his partner strut out by the pool and sit down. He grabbed another beer, opened it and headed over.

She heard the screen door open and shut behind her. She knew it was Elliot before she could see him. He sat in the chair on the other side of the table. He held out the second beer. "Thirsty?"

Olivia chuckled as she took the bottle. "You know it."

He grinned. "I still can't believe you get to sleep with Cabot."

She rolled her eyes at her partner. "And I still can't believe Kathy took you back. Wonders never cease." She picked up the second cigar and motioned to him. He nodded back. Olivia snipped the end off and handed it to him. She relaxed back into the chair.

The detective took it from her and picked up the lighter. He lit it and exhaled. "Where'd you get these?" He sat back.

"Abbie. She gave one to me and one to Alex when Jess's adoption was finalized. Al doesn't like them so I brought them down here hoping I'd have time to relax and smoke 'em." Olivia looked at her partner. He was wearing sweatpants and no shirt. _Had__he__been__working__out?_ He caught her gaze and she tried to recover. "I didn't know you smoked."

He grinned slightly knowing she had been looking at his body. The truth was he had watched for a few minutes before he came over. She had been wearing heels and a robe that ended below her knees. _What__was__she__wearing__under__the__robe?_ Now that he was closer to her he didn't think she was naked…but he did wonder. "I don't, normally. Can I ask you something?"

The detective almost choked on her beer as she swallowed. It was on rare occasion that her partner gave her the option. "Sure." She tried to keep her composure.

"What was it like working with Luck?"

She turned to him. "Fine. Why?"

"Just wondering."

"You don't do that."

He turned to her. "Do what?"

"Just wonder."

"I'm not entitled to wonder…?" he narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, you're entitled to it. You just never do. There is always a reason, El. Always some angle."

"That cigar is going to your head."

Even with the light in the pool lighting the area she could see the look in his eyes. _Jealousy._ "Shut up." She grinned. "Why do you want to know about Luck?"

Elliot cleared his throat. "You've never had another partner. When you put in for a transfer you did a bunch of things but you never had another partner. I just wondered what it was like for you, to have another one."

She couldn't help it and narrowed her eyes at him slightly. "It's true I never had a _Dani_." She spat at him. He reddened. She paused and re-grouped. "It was fine. Being partnered with Luck was fine."

"You two looked pretty _fine_ on the dance floor."

A half-smile graced her lips. "Oh my God…"

"What?" he said annoyed.

"You really are jealous. I thought I was imagining it but I wasn't. You really are jeal…"

"I'm not jealous." He countered but he couldn't look her in the eyes.

Olivia pursed her lips. "If it's not jealousy what is it?"

"Nothing. Forget I asked." He said still not looking at her.

She turned and looked at the water. He did the same. There was silence for about three minutes as the pair smoked, drank and waited for the other to break. Finally he spoke.

"You worked well together. You and Luck."

"I play well with others." She mused.

He finally looked at her. "I don't. I play well with you. Only you."

"Well, well…my heart be still." She met his gaze. "El, are you saying that not only were you jealous but you like being partners with me?"

The detective narrowed his eyes at his partner. "Yes, I was jealous. And I don't like being partners with you." He grinned. "I love being partners with you."

Her crooked smiled highjacked her lips as she leaned forward and put her hand on the table. He took it and glanced down the front of her robe. He could see a mile and half of cleavage and nothing else. He met her eyes and she shook her head. Elliot squeezed her hand gently. "You are…" He struggled.

"I know." She said quietly. "So are you." She squeezed his hand gently and the pair held each other's gaze for another few seconds. The let go of each other and stared back into the illuminated water in the pool. They smoked and drank their beers. "I'm going to curl up with my girlfriend." Olivia finally said once the cigar and beer were gone. She carefully undid the belt that held the robe together.

Elliot stretched. "Yeah, I'm gonna go hold my wife and pray the kids don't wake up until noon."

"Fat chance. The kids wanna be at the park at nine in the morning." She stood and let the robe open.

"Nine AM?" Elliot whined. "I thought this was supposed to be…be…"

Olivia had turned toward him and she was now in his full view. She was wearing four inch heels, stockings, a garter belt and thong. He looked up further to her toned and tanned stomach and then to a bra which struggled to hold its contents. He licked his lips.

"Be…be…" she imitated him with a devilish grin

"What?" he shook his head and finally looked at her eyes.

"Pig."

He reddened. "Why did you wear that out here?"

"I wasn't expecting company. I came out to smoke my cigar after fucking my girl like a queen."

Elliot composed himself and showed some bravado. "Wow…and here I thought Cabot would have been the top."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Show's how much you know."

He grinned like the Cheshire cat. "Well…I did teach her a few moves…I mean that's why I assumed…"

"You did not."

"Uh, yeah…I believe I did. Sweet dreams, Liv."

She believed him but didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he had gotten to her. She smiled, turned and strutted away from him. Two steps away she dropped the robe; her backside in full view as the thong left nothing to the imagination. The last thing she heard was him spitting out the last swig of his beer. "Sweet dreams, El." She waved back at him without turning around as she swayed her hips like she was on a runway.

"Jesus Christ." Elliot choked out as he tried to wipe the beer off his chest.

**Epilogue**

In the weeks that followed their Disney trip Olivia, Alex and Jess's lives returned to normal; or at least as normal as they could get. Waiting for Jess upon her return were her final grades from Mount Pleasant Prep for her Junior year. She earned straight A's across the board. A week later Alex and Olivia leased her a Mini Cooper.

Jess couldn't believe it. She stood in front of the beautiful car. "Why would you do this?" She asked in a quiet tone as she looked at the key in her hand.

Alex looked from the car to her daughter's face. "You earned it. You work unbelievable hard in your life and we wanted to give you something for all your hard work."

"I fucked up so bad this spring. All I did was lie to you both. Why would you do this?" She looked from the key to Olivia.

The detective nodded her head. "Maybe you did lie. Maybe you fucked up…badly. Maybe Alex and I should have been there for you more. Maybe we should have seen some of the things you were going through." Olivia shrugged. "I don't know." She bit her lip as her eyes grew dark. "Elliot says were not very good at punishing you. I think he's wrong. Alex and I know how sorry you are about everything. You know how much we love you and that we don't say it nearly enough. There is enough blame to go around. That doesn't negate how hard you work. It doesn't change how far you've come and what you've accomplished. We leased you the car because you're seventeen now and we wanted you to have something…fun. Not something you needed…"

"Or something that you asked for…" Alex smiled at Jess.

"Just something you could cut loose and have fun with." Olivia finished as she took Alex's hand in hers.

"So…it's mine?" Jess asked as she played with the key in her hand.

Her mamas nodded.

The teen stepped forward and ran her hand along the roof of the car. Jess glanced back at the women raising her. She grinned slightly. "You brought me a fuckin' car…"

Both women smiled.

"Language." Olivia scolded.

"Rudeness." Alex said looking at Jess from above the rim of her black-framed glasses.

"I only have one question." Jess put her hands and the key in the pocket of her surf shorts.

"What's that?" Alex asked.

"Do you two need anything from upstairs before I drive us to the boat for the day?"

Olivia and Alex looked at each other, grinned and looked back at their daughter. "Nope" they replied in unison.

Jess hugged them.

**Tony's Dinner **

**Friday June 3rd, 15:19 **

"What do you want Connie?"

"I want you back. I want to make this right, please."

Tony shook his head. "I don't know. I don't think I can trust you. I took you back once before and you betrayed me almost immediately. Then you lied to me for decades about your whole life."

"I know. Tony, I'm so sorry. It ate at me, you know? I wanted to tell you…"

"Liar!" He pointed at her. "You're a liar! Don't stand there and tell me how this all ate you up inside. How badly you wanted to tell me. Don't you dare turn this into something about you, Connie."

"I'm sorry…" She started to cry.

Tony regained his composure. "All the pieces, all the lies…it's so strange looking back at it all and seeing how they fit. If I hadn't taken you back all those years ago there is a chance Jess wouldn't have been hurt at all."

"You think I don't know that? Huummm…you think that doesn't play through my mind _every_ day."

"Honestly, Connie, I have no idea what goes through your mind. The truth is, I don't know you at all."

She nodded her head. "So that's it?"

"Yeah, I guess that's it."

"Is Jess still living with Olivia and Alex in that condo?"

"Where Jessie is isn't any of your concern."

A sick grin played across Connie's lips. "Oh yes, it is. She's my granddaughter, Tony. That's something that will never go away and something not even _you_ can deny me."

"Leave her alone, Connie!"

"Her mother is dead, her father's in prison…I'm the only family she has left. Don't you think she has questions? Don't you think she'll wonder…where she came from? Blood is thicker than water, Tony." Connie turned on a heel and left the small office she had once spent so much time in.

"Leave her alone, Connie! Do you hear me?" Tony shouted at her all the way through the diner.

**Central Park Baseball Diamond**

**Thursday June 16th, 19:37**

Olivia, Alex and Richard watched Jess as she stood in the batter's box. The pitcher threw the ball and Jess hit it with the bat, sending it deep into right field. They cheered as she rounded first base and took second. Casey Novak had made it home, putting their team in the lead for the first time all game. Casey smiled and winked at her shortstop.

From behind the bleachers sitting on a bench in the park she watched the teenager take second base. The woman grinned. Although she held a book in her hand she hadn't opened it once since she had seen Jess arrive in her uniform with her equipment.

Maybe she had been told to stay away. Maybe it wasn't a good idea for her and Jess to see each other. She didn't care. The overwhelming urge to see the young woman won out. She sat there and watched the rest of Jess's game. She smiled as Jess and her teammates celebrated their win.


End file.
